African Review October 2012

Europe €10, Ghana C1.8, Kenya Ksh200, Nigeria N330, South Africa R25, UK £7, USA $12

October 2012

African gensetmarkets and uses

Building newport facilitiesto supportshipping

P53

P48

www.africanreview.com

FinanceTavaziva Madzinga onOld Mutual Kenya P26

Power:Solutions and services atAfrica Electricity P60

Construction:Building a road-under-rail underpass P76

ATR October 2012 Cover_Layout 1 21/09/2012 10:58 Page 1

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S01 ATR Oct 2012 Agenda North_Layout 1 20/09/2012 17:50 Page 2

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Serving the world of business

UP FRONT

3

REGULARS

FEATURES26 Finance

Financial operations in Kenya; and developments in digital commerce and banking

36 CommerceMalaysian trade with Africa; Ghana’s Sekoradi Free Zone; and opportunities at Ajman Free Zone,Sharjah Airport International Free Zone, and Hamriyah Free Zone

44 TechnologySurveillance solutions; database operation; and document management

48 TransportConveyor equipment for South African ports; and the supply of low sulphur fuel for shipping

53 PowerGenset market analysis; transformer-based and transformerless UPS usage; testing powergeneration; infrared technology to cut energy use; and auditing energy usage

71 ConstructionLibya’s infrastructure contracts; building a new underpass in South Africa; the benefits of 4WDloaders; innovative crane designs; and notes on using compressors

85 MiningInvestor opportunities at Electra Mining; digging deeper shafts for diamond mining; andsouthern African services for product distribution

04 Agenda: Commercial initiativesacross the continent

22 Bulletin:Agribusiness operationsand investor news

63 Solutions:Products for farmers andfor communicators

Contents

Europe €10, Ghana C1.8, Kenya Ksh200, Nigeria N330, South Africa R25, UK £7, USA $12

October 2012

African gensetmarkets and uses

Building newport facilitiesto supportshipping

P53

P48

www.africanreview.com

FinanceTavaziva Madzinga onOld Mutual Kenya P26

Power:Solutions and services atAfrica Electricity P60

Construction:Building a road-under-rail underpass P76

Editor’s Note

Cover picture: Power generation units supportmany economic and industrial operations, frommanufacturing to transportation (Photo: Rovo Railways)

P40

P76

Smarter management of power supply is required at all levels of commerce and community.This issue of African Review of Business and Technology offers insights into the technologies,

the solutions and the services that enable efficient use of energy to drive enterprise forward. Thegenset market analysis that forms a significant feature of this issue, beginning on page 53 iscomplemented by reports on utilisation of UPS units, test and measurement equipment, infraredtechnology, and auditing solutions for power generation and consumption.Commerce itself is addressed on pages 36-43, with an appraisal of trade promotion between Asiaand Africa, and analyses of Free Zone development and operation in Africa and in the Middle East.Preceding these are opinions and observations on attempts at financial inclusion across Africa,with pages 26-35 encompassing engagement with new technologists and online communities.Moving forward, this month we feature construction from north to south, with notes oncontracting opportunities in Libya, on page 71, and a report on roadbuilding in South Africa onpage 76. Construction equipment, in the forms of loaders, cranes and compressors, are addressedon pages 78, 80 and 82. Following construction is mining, with a review of Electra Mining on page85, and notes on project work at a diamond mine on page 86.

Andrew Croft, Managing Editor

African Review of Business and Technology - October 2012

Audit Bureau ofCirculations -

Business Magazines


Ad-In-One Europe, a software companydelivering multi-functional financial andworkflow management systems to creativeand communication agencies, offers itssoftware with localised support to companiesin the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).Its software distribution and consultingservices in the MENA region are provided by aregional distributor, Grapheast Ltd - based inDubai, in the UAE - making the softwareavailable to all mid-sized and larger agencieswith more than 30 employees through theregion.

Ivan Petruv, CEO of the Ad-In-One, said,"We are very glad to welcome Grapheast

Ltd. as one of our Ad-In-One distributorsand offer Ad-In-One to customers in aregion where many changes have occurredin recent years. We believe that Grapheast'soutstanding knowledge of local marketsand its resellers network will ensure anexceptional service for all our customers inthe Middle East and North Africa."

John Boutros, General Manager ofGrapheast, added, "With Ad-In-One webelieve that we can offer our customersinternationally respected agencymanagement software used by theleading network and independentagencies in the industry.”

4

NEWS

BP Egypt has made gas discoveries in the Taurt North and Seth South fields in the Nile Delta’sNorth El Burg Offshore Concession. These are the fourth and fifth discoveries made by BP in theconcession following Satis-1 and Satis-3 Oligocene deep discoveries and Salmon-1 shallowPleistocene discovery.

The two wells were drilled by IEOC on behalf of concession operator BP, using Scarabeo IV rigin water depths of 110 and 78 metres respectively. The wireline logs, fluid samples and pressuredata confirmed the presence of gas in one Pleistocene interval in Taurt North and two Plio-Pleistocene intervals in Seth South. Options to tie both discoveries to nearby existinginfrastructure are being studied.

Hesham Mekawi, President and General Manager of BP Egypt stated, "The discoveries showour commitment to develop the remaining potential of the shallow reservoirs within the NileDelta and make the best use of the existing infrastructure. It demonstrates the ongoingcooperation with the Ministry of Petroleum to deliver new gas discoveries and incrementalsupply to meet the future growth of the gas business in Egypt."

With huge gas finds and new ventures in the region, with accelerated leasing andinvestment, the Middle East and North African oil and gas market remains dynamic.Regional exploration and production of oil, gas, liquid natural gas (LNG) is attracting agrowing number of companies and investors who find new business opportunities. The9th MidEast-North Africa Mediterranean Upstream (MENA-MED) 2012 Conference held inSeptember in Geneva, Switzerland, focused on exploration and development ventures inthe region. Organised by Global Pacific & Partners. Dr Duncan Clarke, Chairman & CEO ofGlobal Pacific & Partners said, “With the world’s largest oil reserves in the Middle East,major capital investment projects across the region, acreage openings, new oil/gas andLNG strategies across North Africa, plus huge gas finds in the Mediterranean, the meetingwill once again highlight significant opportunities for companies and investors, financiers,traders and players across the value chain.”


Agenda / NorthBP discovers more gas in Egypt

Software for MENA marketeers

Oil and gas opportunities on show

The African Development Bank(AfDB) conducts Business

Opportunities Seminars (BOS) twice ayear to inform participants of thebusiness/procurement prospectslinked to Bank-financed operations inAfrica. Focus is mainly on the overviewof Bank Group policies/sectorstrategies; procurement rules andprocedures; and ongoing/plannedcountry operations. This year’s secondBOS will be held in Tunis, Tunisia, on 13and14 November 2012.

Business Opportunity Seminars aretargeted at private sector organisationsfrom the AfDB’s 77 member countries.The objective is to provide a forumrelating to the AfDB’s lending policies,procurement rules, operation cycle, andproject pipelines.

The seminars will be a mix of plenarysessions and bilateral meetings, andparticipants will be become betterinformed on how to identify businessopportunities in various sectors,including infrastructure, energy, privatesector, water and sanitation, agriculture,and education.

Each BOS is intended to strengthenpartnerships between the AfDB and thebusiness sector in both regional andnon-regional member countries.

A business agendaThe Tunis BOS in November will featurepromotion and discussion of the bank’spolicies, priorities and lendingoperations, of its pocurement rules andprocedures - and of the various sectorstrategies and projects underpinning itsapproach to private sector development,transport, information andcommunications technologies (ICTs),and energy, the environment, andclimate change. Complementing thesewill be sessions on water and sanitation,agriculture, and human development.

Business opportunitiestargeted in Tunisia



In Khartoum, Sudan, UNDP ResidentRepresentative Resident and Humanitarian

Coordinator Mr Ali Al-Za’tari recentlyhighlighted the progress of Sudan towardsachieving Millemnnium Development Goals(MDGs), the importance of national ownership;and the progress of Sudan towards reachingthe MDGs deadline of 2015. Mr Ali Al-Za’tariobserves that there has been a substantialreduction in the malaria prevalence rate inSudan from 6. 8 per cent to 1.8 per cent, and areduction in the malaria mortality rate

reduction of more than 50 per cent percent.Furthermore, the Sudan National TBprogramme has enabled a TB treatment successrate of 82 per cent. There hasm, too, beenprogress in HIV/AIDS work in the country; in2006, the number of people receiving anti-retroviral treatment numbered 265, and for 2012 thefigure is 5,532.

Contributing strategies for health and econmic developmentGlobal Fund (GF) grants are main contributors

to the Sudanese Ministry of Health. Due to theprogress in establishing national programmesand national strategies, with the support of theGF; the government is now allocating morefunds to primary health care exemplifiedthrough an allocation of US$20mn before theend of 2012. A big part of this fund is to improvethe capacity of local and national health carefacilities throughout the country. This willcontribute to improving further the nationalcapacities that will play a complimentary role tothe UNDP-GF supported programmes.

6

NEWS

A report published by the AfricanDevelopment Bank (AfDB), ‘UnlockingNorth Africa’s potential through regionalintegration’, examines the key issues andchallenges facing regional integration inNorth African countries across a number ofthematic areas, including: (i) energy; (ii)climate change and environment; (iii)financial sector; (iv) trade facilitation andtransport; (v) human development; and (vi)information and communicationtechnology.

The report indicates that efforts topromote regional integration in NorthAfrica have often been constrained bypolitical differences as well as diversity ineconomic performance, pace of reformsand openness, and disparities in legal andregulatory frameworks. Overlappingpreferential trade agreements and a largenumber of trade barriers have alsoemerged as a constraint to regionalintegration efforts. Together, theseimpediments have increased transactioncosts. Similarly, the existence of thesebarriers reflects weak political commitmentto the integration process, as a largenumber of decisions taken at the regionallevel have not been translated into actionat the country level.

"Despite these challenges, in the wake ofthe Arab Spring, the emerging political

landscape in North Africa promises to givenew impetus to regional integrationefforts," said Jacob Kolster, AfDB RegionalDepartment Director for North Africa. Thediversity of resource endowments in theregion, coupled with the existing physicalinfrastructure, represent an importantopportunity for further developmentthrough regional integration.

The report makes proposals for thecontinued engagement of the AfricanDevelopment Bank in the region, gearedtowards exploiting the full potential ofregional integration in North Africa for thepromotion of a new, inclusive andsustainable growth model.

“The potential is huge,” says EmanueleSanti, an Economist at AfDB andCoordinator of the report.

Regional integration is still in itsinfancy in North Africa. With intra-regional trade accounting for less thanfour per cent of total trade, the region isthe least economically integrated

neighborhood in the world."The new political context in North

African countries and the crisis in Europe,which compel countries to diversifymarkets, offer a golden opportunity torefocus on the regional integration agendaas an engine of growth for all countries,"Mr Santi emphasised.

Better Sudanese health and a stronger economy


Agenda / NorthReporting on the power of regional integration to boost economies

Regional integrationcontributes to the growth

of small and mediumentreprises through

exports of goods and services”


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S02 ATR Oct 2012 Agenda East_Layout 1 20/09/2012 17:59 Page 7

An information texting service forfarmers, and small and medium

enterprises (SMEs), has been initiated bythe International Finance Corporation(IFC) with two Mozambican partners, toimprove access to pertinent and timelyinformation - so that farmers andbusiness persons can improve operationsand grow business.

Operated in partnership withMozambique's Universidade EduardoMondlane (UEM) and telecom operatorVodacom, the IFC short message service(SMS) provides farmers and entrepreneursfree and timely information on businessand farming needs.

The SMS system involves closecollaboration between the three partiesinvolved. Through its network of contentproviders, UEM gathers information oncommodity prices, legislation, taxationand other pertinent news for farmers andsmall businesses in Mozambique. UEMlogs the information on IFC’s SMEToolkitwebsite, which forwards it as SMSmessages to Vodacom and other mobileoperators - which, in turn, send themessages to their subscribers.

The SMS system provides farmers andentrepreneurs with information onprices of their products in differentmarkets, and on the weather and seedchoice. Farmers and small businessescan access market information on theirmobile phones at no extra cost.

8

NEWS

Airtel Africa is working with the GSMA toinitiate a project to empower approximately250,000 small-holder farmers in Kenya withreliable and relevant agricultural informationvia their mobile phones. The project,dubbed ‘Sauti ya Mkulima’ (Swahili for voiceof the farmer), is providing farmers withaccess to pertinent agriculture-relatedinformation, advice and research that willhelp them make better decisions about theircrops, increasing the productivity of theiryield, as well as their potential income. Italso helps create a farmer community withinwhich peers can share experiences andexchange information about socialgatherings, events, and job opportunities.

“At Airtel, we recognise innovativetelecommunications solutions have thepower to transform communities. Thisinitiative is a solid testament to whatpartnerships that harness relevantconsumer needs can achieve in overcomingdaily challenges. We are excited andthankful to the partners involved inbirthing this initiative,” explains ShivanBhargava, Managing Director, Airtel Kenya.“Our ‘Sauti ya Mkulima’ project will providesmall-holder farmers with access to qualitycontent, information and know-how onagriculture-related activities. Gainingaccess to this information will beimmensely beneficial to the farmers whose

livelihoods are dependent on their yield.The information will allow them to makebetter informed decisions that will result inimproved productivity.”

As part of the partnership, the GSMAmFarmer initiative - supported by USAID andthe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - hasawarded Airtel US$400,000 for the ‘Sauti yaMkulima’ project. The initiative aims tofacilitate the rapid scaling of the use ofmobile phone networks to provide farmersin developing countries with agriculturalinformation. The funds are being used todevelop a reliable database of content withthe help of partners such as the Centre forAgricultural Bioscience International (CABI),an inter-governmental not-for-profitorganisation and radio-based informationprovider Kilimo Media, as well as to set upthe technological capabilities to execute theproject with the help of world-classtechnology service providers.

The move to support farmers in Kenyafollows a continent-wide initiative by Airtelearlier in 2012, to deliver healthcare to ruralareas - through a partnership with VER SE’Innovation that involves the ongoingdevelopment of a mobile health (mHealth)platform. This partnership sees the twocompanies come together to provide lowcost, easily accessible mobile health servicesto consumers across Africa.

IBM is working with the Tanzanian Government to help achieve its vision of becoming a hub fortrade in the wider East Africa region, and to enhance the efforts towards sustainable economicdevelopment outlined in the Tanzania National ICT Policy. Honourable Prof Makame M.Mbarawa, the country’s Minister for Communication, Science and Technology, said, "Workingwith IBM will help to ensure that our initiatives are in line with international standards whilepositioning us to become competitive regionally and internationally."

IBM and the Government of Tanzania are developing simplified and more effective social andadministrative systems for e-Government, e-Health and e-Education among other areas.

"IBM is a long-standing partner to the Tanzanian government and we are committed tosupporting the country's economic growth and technical advancement," said Dr Mark Dean,Chief Technology Officer and IBM Fellow, IBM Middle East and Africa.

Messaging for info onMozambique’s markets

Farmers and small businesses will benefit frombetter access to market information


Agenda / EastMobile firm empowers Kenya'ssmall-holder farmers

Technology improves trade



The Near East Regional Office of theFood and Agriculture Orgnization

(FAO) has collaborated with theCommittee on World Food Security (CFS)in organising a Regional Multi-Stakeholderworkshop on Food Security and Nutrition,in Khartoum, Sudan, in September 2012.

The workshop was organised as afollow-up to a recommendation made bythe 31st Session of the FAO RegionalConference for the Near East (NERC31)held in Rome, Italy, in May 2012, whichcalled for identifying food security andnutrition priorities in the region to bepresented at the 39th Session of CFS,being held 15-20 October 2012.

The Multi-Stakeholder workshopbrought together experts and policymakers from 20 countries in the region aswell as representatives from UN agencies,donor countries, regional organisations,civil society organisations, researchinstitutions and the private sector. Thefood security and nutrition challengesfacing the region were discussed andactionable recommendations identified.

The workshop included four policyround tables on the following topics:● Regional priorities for food security

and nutrition in the context of on-going social and political transition inthe region.

● Social protection for food security.● Food security and climate change.● Food waste and losses.

About 80 delegates participated with40 representatives from 20 countries:Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan,Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania,Morocco, occupied Palestinian territories,Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria,Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.UN agencies, NGOs, farmers organisations,representatives of international financialinstitutions, regional institutions,agricultural research institutions, privatesector and philanthropic foundationsalso participated.

10

NEWS

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) hasintroduced a property tracking system to nublandlords evading rental taxation. Thetechnology, known as Geospatial RevenueCollection Information System (GEOCRIS)involves mapping of all rental incomegenerating premises and incorporating theminto the system.

The system will track down the physicalrental properties location and compute theirtax compliance real time. It then isolates thenon-compliant cases for reportage. With thisinformation, the taxman can then send officersto the ground to collect further data using aGIS-enabled phone that directly sendsinformation to the web-connected andsynchronised system.

GEOCRIS uses geospatial technology andwill allow existing mobile money transferservices such as M-Pesa to collect tax as wellas other dues.

In the past, landlords have been escapingtaxation on their rental incomes –leaving thetaxman to rely on formally employed personsand registered businesses as the real tax payers.

Experts note that the system works morelike Google Maps although in this case theroads have been replaced by actualbuildings- coming up, completed orundeveloped spaces.

“It eliminates the challenge on minimalmanpower that would be a setback in thecollecting of taxes in the property segment. Wehave already rolled out pilot tests in Nairobi and

plan to expand it throughout the country,” saidKRA’s spokesperson Kennedy Onyonyi.

The technology can also assist the taxmanspot audit cases and feed authorities withtaxpayers’ key information. It will also be possiblefor the system to perform a rental incomeproperty search based on the name of thetaxpayer, address or the personal identificationnumber (PIN) of the potential taxpayer.

It can also track down the taxpayer to thehouse. Meanwhile, KRA has deployed newelectronic tax devices (ERTs) to transmit real-time data every time a transaction occursanywhere in the country. Enabled by generalpacket radio service (GPRS) technology,developed and established for mobilecommunications, the devices give the taxmanability to identify the location of each taxregister, removing the risk of revenue loss incase the register is stolen.

The devices automatically relay data to acentral server every time a transaction ismade- for tabulation and safe keeping inreadiness for reconciliation with the actualtax returns at the end of each month.

“Using the system, KRA can tell how muchthey have collected from time to time beforeeven tax returns are filled,” observed Onyonyi.

The new technology is expected to savethe taxman million in operational costs andhelp mop up billions of shillings lostthrough tax evasion.

Mwangi Mumero

The first Regus business centre in Rwanda, in Kigali City, forms part of a strategic objective tokeep pace with rising demand for flexible workspaces in East Africa. Regus, which providesflexible workplaces, has seen a 47 per cent surge in demand for its services in the region and 40per cent year-on-year growth in enquiries across the continent. The new centre in Rwanda isone of seven locations in different countries in East Africa, including: Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya,Zambia, Mauritius and Madagascar. Mark Dixon, CEO of Regus, said, “We are launching a newcentre in Rwanda to provide businesses with smarter, flexible ways to grow and explore theopportunities created by economic growth in East Africa. We help them to do so at minimalupfront cost, without committing themselves to long-term premises. These advantages havefuelled demand for our services across Africa and especially East Africa where we intend todouble the size of our network by 2014.”

Working towards foodsecurity and nutrition


Agenda / EastKenya adopts geo-mapping

Regus invests in Rwanda


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S03 ATR Oct 2012 Agenda South_Layout 1 20/09/2012 18:00 Page 11

Informal Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) have dominated South Africa’sbusiness landscape since 1994, with agovernment document entitled Towards aTen Year Review revealing that about 2.3mnpeople have owned at least one VATunregistered company, with 338,000 ownersemploying a total of 734,000 people.

Arthur Goldstuck, manager of research firmWorldwide Worx, has further confirmed thevalidity of the market, noting that researchindicates that there are some 650,000 SMEs inthe country.

Having taken note of the burgeoningpotential of this market, and in line with itsown commitment to promoting the growthof the small business sector, Nashua Limitedhas joined the National Small BusinessChamber (NSBC).

The NSBC is an organisation dedicated tohelping small businesses achieve success byhelping them acquire knowledge, stay up todate with the latest business trends, andconnect with over 30,000 registered SMEsthrough events and networking platforms.

David Hallas, marketing director of NashuaLimited, said, “Nashua Limited recognises thatsmall business development is a vital facet ofSouth Africa’s economy, and is a critical factor inour country’s general growth and progression.

“Therefore, Nashua is delighted to join theNSBC, as we will now have direct access tothis market. Subsequently, our company willbe able to enhance the development of SME’sby providing them with access to solutionsthat will save them money, increaseproductivity, and foster a culture ofsustainable business.”

12

NEWS

Safmarine Gauteng expects to increase volumes and revenue for the remainder of the year andsays its optimistic outlook is based on healthy import and export growth in the first six months of2012 and positive forecasts from its Gauteng customer base for the remainder of 2012. Accordingto Gauteng's regional executive, Peter Andre, "The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and othersmay be predicting slower growth for the South African economy, but our customers in Gautengare forecasting healthy volumes for the rest of the year, predominantly from the Far East, followedby Europe and the USA market."

Currently more than 50 per cent of Safmarine South Africa's import and export dry cargo iscontrolled by its offices in Gauteng, making the Safmarine offices in Johannesburg and Pretoriathe largest contributors to the line's South Africa business.

Andre says these offices have made it a priority to improve their customers' shipping experience."We believe our people make the difference in delivering an exceptional shipping experience

and we automate processes wherever we can to deliver savings to our customers." Another priority is supporting the move from road to rail as a means to reducing logistics costs

and facilitating more environmentally-friendly supply chain solutions in South Africa. "Our customers in Gauteng are highly reliant on road and rail for getting their goods to market

and expanding the rail capacity will definitely increase the cost competitiveness of their goods,while improving logistics efficiencies and reliability," says Andre.

Safmarine Gauteng is also using the company's award-winning Containers in the Communityproject to support the 'Joburg 2040' vision of achieving 'resilience, sustainability and liveability' byconverting containers into schools, libraries, classrooms and computer centres in the Gauteng region.

Safmarine launched the Containers in the Community programme 20 years ago. Since thenmore than 8,000 shipping containers have been used in more than 3,000 projects in Africaand South Africa.


Agenda / SouthGrowth on for Safmarine Gauteng

Nashua to join SA’s National SmallBusiness Chamber

Information technology services providerHCL Technologies Ltd (HCL) is now

operating a Glocal Centre of Excellence(GCoE) in Johannesburg, South Africa, aspart of its commitment to building asocially responsible business. - and hasbeen collaborating closely with Cisco todevelop the curricula for the centre, whichis training local engineers on advancedCisco technologies.

HCL's Cisco Hub in India offers 15 years'experience in creating engineering talentin advanced technologies. TheJohannesburg GCoE which is alsooperated by HCL, is aligned with the Indiahub to address the skills shortage foradvanced technologies in both regions.HCL has already trained an initial batch of26 local engineers who are alreadydeployed on key projects in five regionalhubs across South Africa, with plans totrain 100 engineers at the centre over next12 months.

The South Africa Hub capitalises onHCL's core strength in training largenumbers of engineers and will see thisstrategy expanded further and rolled outon a wider base. The GCoE servescustomers directly and indirectly throughHCL's partner network throughout Africa,It also services clients by developing ICTskill sets thus ultimately creating trainedlocal personnel to deploy and manageadvanced solutions.

The centre supports a number of verticalsectors including retail and mining, andjoins existing GCoEs in the United States ofAmerica (USA) and the European Union(EU) in running dedicated recruitment andtraining programmes for collegegraduates. A pilot programme running atcentres in Seattle, WA and Cary, NC in theUS, Helsinki in Finland, Krakow in Polandand Dublin in Ireland has provided aplatform for developing IT skill pools inlocal communities through collaborationwith anchor customers and universities.

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14

NEWS

At this year’s Electra Mining Africa MBEMinerals South Africa (formerly HumboldtWedag) exhibited static scale modelsshowcasing key elements of its broad rangeof technology. These included its Pneuflotflotation, BATAC jig, ROMJIG, Jones Wet HighIntensity Magnetic Separator (WHIMS),PERMOS (LIMS), a Palla Vibrating Mill, TESKAHMS Separator and a wide variety of screensand feeders.

In 2010 Indian turnkey engineering giantMcNally Bharat Engineering (MBE) acquiredGerman-based Humboldt Wedag Coal andMinerals Technology, including its SouthAfrican subsidiary and, in the two yearssubsequent to this acquisition, MBE Minerals

has made excellent headway in aligning itsgrowth strategies with that of its new holdingcompany.

MBE Minerals SA managing director,Johannes Kottmann, says the acquisition hasexpanded his company’s proprietarytechnology ownership, ideally positioning itto expand its presence across the entire SADCregion through the introduction of newequipment, and technology andpartnerships.

“We want to evolve into a completetechnical solutions package provider, fromtechnology creation to product manufactureand installation, along with all associatedancillary equipment. We’re much more thanan equipment distributor — we want to berecognised as a fully-fledged processengineering company,” Kottmann says.

The company’s Pneuflot technology iscoming to the fore worldwide as a flotationtechnology of the future, rapidly surpassingthe popularity of conventional technology.The Pneuflot machine flotation cell improvesproduct quality and the recovery, deliveringlower capex and opex, as well as significantlylower wear costs and higher efficiencies.

Its BATAC jig technology has been field-proven through extensive and diverse testwork to deliver higher efficiency, hugeeconomic benefits, better product quality,better machine availability and higherthroughput rates. The prime advantages ofthis system are its excellent separationaccuracy, its relatively small size andcomparatively low capital cost. Accuracy isachieved through electronic control of theair pulse generator and sensing of thethickness and densities of the materiallayers being separated.

A Jones magnetic separator


Agenda / SouthA showcase of mining technology

A USL-D double deck screenfor coal sizing and washing

Pneuflot has positively demonstrated itsefficiency in many mines around the world

The BATAC jig technology offersexcellent separation technology

The production team at GM SouthAfrica’s Struandale plant in Port

Elizabeth in South Africa, celebrated aproduction milestone of 200,000 ChevroletUtilities recently.

“Chevrolet Utility has been a winner inall aspects since introduction into thismarket from quality to performance andsales. The 200,000 units produced in thelast 15 years represent a significantmilestone for a vehicle which is unique tothe South African and South Americanmarkets. South Africans love the ChevroletUtility and we will continue to be focusedon giving our customers the best valueand quality product for their money,” saidMalcolm Gauld, GM South Africa VicePresident of Vehicle Sales and Marketing.

The Chevrolet Utility - now beingproduced in its third vesrion - offersexcellent interior space and comfort, styling,safety and convenience, along with loadcarrying ability and low fuel consumption.

“The introduction of the thirdgeneration Chevrolet Utility marked thecompletion of the first phase of our R 1billion investment to upgrade ourproduction facilities at Struandale. We areproud of this significant milestone, and wethank our customers for their support inmaking the Chevrolet Utility thebestselling vehicle in its segment,” saidEdgar Lourencon, President GMSSA andManaging Director GM South Africa.

Chevrolet celebratesproduction milestone

The third generation Chevrolet Utility, introduced tothe South African market at the end of 2011, hasachieved a record market share of 55.4 per cent inthe first eight months of 2012


S04 ATR Oct 2012 Agenda West_Layout 1 20/09/2012 18:01 Page 15

16

NEWS

Sirius Group is one of Africa's fastest-growing energygroups with interests in oil and gas; powergeneration, real estate, shipping, and financialservices. The company is committed to provideproducts and services that break existing barriers inthe sectors in which they operate in. In accordancewith its international business expansion strategy,the company’s chief executive officer, Mr TonyRapu, has forecasted a healthy businessoutlook for its oil and gas subsidiary.

Sirius Energy Resources has beenawarded an Oil Exploration License for theGrein Block in the North West Region ofNiger. The company was listed amongstfive companies that were successful inthe recent bid for oil blocks in thecountry, as quoted in the National Daily(Le Sahel, 9 Jul 2012).

The Grein Block lays roughly between latitudes 190 and 210 North and longitude 100 and110 east covering approximately 22,020km2. It falls within the Cretaceous-Tertiary West AfricanRift system, which is believed to extend 4,000km from Gao trough in Mali to the Anza basin inKenya (Fairhead, 1986). The Block consists of deep narrow grabens filled with Cretaceous toTertiary sediments with thickness reaching at times 12,000m.

Grein is bordered on the west by the Tenere block owned by CNPC and estimated to have 1-3billion barrels of probable oil reserves and North of the Agadem block with proven reserves ofover 500mn barrels of oil and 10bcm of Natural Gas, also being exploited by CNPC.

Mr Rapu acknowledged the co-oporation of the Government and people of Niger and theCNPC in the award of the concession license to Sirius Group and further pledged that it willcontinue to uphold quality, corporate governance and innovation in its business engineeringprocesses to attract capable hands and will always consider its community social responsibilityefforts in strengthening its business ties with its host community.

The striking Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge in Lagos isNigeria's first cable stay bridge. It represents alandmark construction project - with themain contractor, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC,using advanced construction techniques andproducts to overcome environmental andlogistical challenges and meet stringentdesign specifications. BASF ConstructionChemicals' high performance admixtures andbuilding system products were vitalingredients in this work.

The bridge joins two upmarket districts -

Lekki and Ikoyi on Lagos Island - and will helprelieve the massive congestion in and aroundVictoria Island. Initiated in 2009,the new roadlink is set to open for public traffic inNovember 2012. The 1.357m long bridgecomprises a 722m full-span approach bridgeand a main cable-stayed segmental bridge of635m in length, at the centre of which is a90m high pylon. Both walkways are twometres wide and the width of the two maincarriageways - east- and westbound,respectively - will be 2 x 4 metres each.


Agenda / WestSirius Energy Resources wins oilblock concession in Niger Republic

Lagos bridge set for completion

Bukina Faso’s mobilecommerce service

Airtel Burkina Faso, the largestmobile company in the country,

has launched a mobile money platformnamed Airtel Money, or m-ligdi, inpartnership with Ecobank. The platformallows consumers to top up theirphones with air time, send and receivemoney, pay their critical utility bills, andaccess their bank accounts.

In Africa, the availability of formalfinancial services is limited to certaingeographic and income ranges, oftenleaving the majority of the populationto rely on unreliable and costly informalchannels for their financial transactions.Against this backdrop, the total value ofmobile money transfers in Africa isestimated to exceed US$200bn in 2015due to users’ growing trust in thesystem and the growing range ofservices provided. Key market players -banks and mobile operators, inparticular - are keen to address thisopportunity.

Commenting on the new service,John Ndego, Airtel Managing Director,said that Airtel Money in Burkina Faso ismuch needed to provide “access tobanking services, initially throughmoney transfers and purchase of goodsand services through electronicpayments”.

He continued, “On a day-to-day basiswith Airtel Money, you no longer haveto carry cash. All you need is yourmobile telephone. This service allowscustomers to send money to lovedones, pay essential utility bills such aselectricity or water, settle grocery bills inthe supermarket and even top up yourphone with airtime.”

Cheikh Travaly, Director of Ecobank,said, "Ecobank will support Airtel toensure that the product being launchedis efficient and secure. We encourageeveryone to take advantage of thisgreat service. "

CEO of Sirius Group,Mr Tony Rapu



18

NEWS

Transaction Payments Solutions (TPS) hasestablished a presence in Nigeria, buildingon success in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya,Mauritius, Seychelles, Uganda, South Africa,Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi and Ghana - inproviding electronic payment solutions andservices including point-of-sale (POS)equipment, terminal repairs, warranty forterminals, software development andsupport, and ACI position software.

The Central Bank of Nigeria is driving acashless policy forward, in this cash-denominated country. TPS Nigeria is set toenable businesses of all sizes - includingbanks - to meet their requirements underthe policy, encouraging the use ofelectronic payments for goods and servicesand bringing low-cost, secure andconvenient financial services to both urbanand rural areas.

On setting up shop in Nigeria, LiquidTelecom - TPS parent company - builds on asolid track record - whereby, as LiquidTelecom’s CEO Nic Rudnick put it,"Everywhere we had deployed terminals,we put in place and we ensure that we havetested applications, the right people androbust solutions,” adding that thecompany’s software conforms tointernational standards and are updated

regularly.On cyber crime, Liquid Telecom’s CEO

said it had not experienced any penetrationanywhere it is doing business, that theintegrity of its systems is secure, and itsencryption very high.

Executives at TPS Nigeria affirm that it ispositioned well to provide a full range ofsolutions to suit businesses of all sizes -including fully-integrated terminalsolutions in the form of applications,hardware and communications offerings tosuit customer needs - in addition tostandard credit and debit card payments.TPS will also provide POS-based prepaidand postpaid bill payment solutions toretailers and bankers, so enablingNigerians to pay bills such as those forelectricity, water, and telephone servicesusing a POS terminal.

Furthermore, TPS Nigeria is providingACI’s Postilion ATM technology, cardmanagement, merchant acquisition, retailpayments and payment switching productsto banks and retailers - providing sales andsupport for clients with mission-criticalapplications that offer protection againstdowntime and data loss.

TPS Nigeria is promoting the assistanceit would receive from its parent body,

Liquid Telecom - support that it expects togive it an edge in the market. LiquidTelecom’s assets include an in-housesoftware development team that cancustomise products for individualbusinesses, and the provision ofbroadband connectivity throughout Africausing fibre, satellite and wirelessbroadband. These allow TPS Nigeria tooffer fast and affordable connectivity forelectronic payments via satellite andwireless communication services.

Nic Rudnick spoke positively of thecompany’s entry into Nigeria, saying theNigerian operation will be its most advancedpay centre in the region. Harry Ike Nnoli, thehead of the Nigerian operation, said LiquidTelecom’s wealth of experience and qualityof service will help TPS Nigeria to positionitself at strength, and asserted that itscustomers are already seeing the benefits ofdoing business with them. Obinnia Abajue,Head of Personal and Business Banking atStanbic IBTC bank, supported thisaffirmation - saying that the bank’s decisionto go with TPS Nigeria was based on LiquidTelecom’s pedigree across Africa and itscommitment to the Nigerian market.

Olowo Adebola


Agenda / WestTPS opens shop in Nigeria

Mining industry leaders meet on development

Mining authorities and industry players met in Accra,Ghana, in mid-September at the 2012 West & Central

Africa Mining Summit, to tackle the latest challenges andopportunities in the rapidly developing West & Central Africamining scene.

Among the sector-critical issues discussed were the growthdrivers for investments into the regional mining boom -especially: China’s Demand for Mineral Resources; and the NewSources of Institutional Capital for Mining Companies & FundingOptions for New Discoveries. The Summit also offeredopportunities to deliberate on the question: Is Africa anAcquisitions-Friendly Market?

This year’s distinguished speakers included: Hon Mike Hammah,Minister, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources [Ghana];Benjamin Aryee, Chief Executive, Minerals Commission [Ghana];

Hon A Kpandel Fayia, Deputy Minister for Planning andDevelopment/Focal Point, Ministry of Lands, Mines & Energy[Liberia]; Ousmane Cisse, Director of Mining & Geology, Ministryof Mines [Senegal]; Dr Eugene H Shannon, Former Minister,Ministry of Lands, Mines & Energy [Liberia]/President, NaturalResources Development Corporation Inc; Dr Edeki Mudiare,Executive Member, African Iron and Steel Association (AISA)[Nigeria]; Marcus S Wleh, Manager, Corporate Responsibility,ArcelorMittal [Liberia]; Franklin Joseph Asamoah-Mensah, GhanaRepresentative, Rio Tinto Alcan; Salim Abubekir, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Sumo Coal Pty Ltd; Dr M P Narayanan, Vice-Chairman,World Mining Congress (WMC)/Chairman, Asian Mining Chapter,WMC/President, GIS Development/Former Chairman, Coal IndiaLtd; and Daniel (Dan) Kenneth Bansah, Vice-President, Exploration,Banro Corporation.


S05 ATR Oct 2012 Bulletin_Layout 1 20/09/2012 16:39 Page 19

20

NEWS

Events / 2012 November


Initiative organized and supported by:

Ministério das Obras Públicas e Habitação

da Républica de Moçambique

26-28 NovEmber 2012Girassol Indy Congress Hotel,Maputo, Mozambique

Mozambique’s International Construction & Infrastructure Conference and Exhibition

www.mozbuild.com

“The only event in Mozambique focusing on the Construction &

Infrastructure Industries”

+44 (0) 207 700 4949 [email protected]

and supported bInitiative organi

+

by:zed

Moçamda Répu

Públicas eMinistério

+44 (0) 207 700 4949

mbiqueublica de e Habitação o das Obras

sergio@ag @9 ametrade.orgg

4-6Algeria Future EnergyAlgiers, Algeriawww.thecwcgroup.com

5-7Logistics West AfricaLagos, Nigeriawww.cwc-logistics.com

6-8Kenya International TradeNairobi, Kenyaexpogr.com

6-8Power-Gen AfricaJohannesburg, South Africawww.powergenafrica.com

6-8Senegalese MiningDakar, Senegalwww.simsenegal.com

6-8WACEEAccra, Ghanawww.wacee.net

8-11Cairo BuildCairo, Egyptwww.cairobuildex.com

8-11Mauritanian Mining & Oil and GasNouakchott, Mauritaniawww.mauritanides2012.com

12-14East Africa Oil & GasNairobi, Kenyawww.eaog-summit.com

13-15Africa ComCape Town, South Africaafrica.comworldseries.com

13-15iPAD MozambiqueMaputo, Mozambiquewww.mozambique.ipad-africa.com

19-21WAPICLagos, Nigeriawww.wapicforum.com

21-22AfriHealthNairobi, Kenyawww.aitecafrica.com

27-29East Africa-Nigeria Trade & InvestmentMombasa, Kenyawww.eantis.com

26-28MozBuildMaputo, Mozambiquewww.mozbuild.com


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NEWS

Bulletin / AgribusinessPutting smallholder farmers at the centre of the conversationThe African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), which took place in September 2012 in Arusha,

Tanzania, continued the global dialogue that began with the World Economic Forum on Africa

and the G8 - putting smallholder farmers at the centre of the conversation, developing action

plans for Africa's agricultural sector; specifically, AGRF brought together African heads of state,

ministers, farmers, private agribusiness firms, financial institutions, NGOs, civil society and

scientists, to discuss the right way to scale up investments and innovation for sustainable

agricultural growth and food security.

Evaluating the impact of bioscience on povertyScientists, international development experts, diplomats and government officials met in

Johannesburg in September 2012 to assess how the use of biosciences can alleviate poverty

and enhance sustainable development on the continent; key on the agenda of the four-day

conference, organised by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was the

evaluation of the impact of BioFISA, which was established jointly by the Governments of

Finland and South Africa to provide support for the Southern African Network for Biosciences

(SANBio) initiative, established by NEPAD.

Indian company sets up tractor plant in Zambia Mohan Exports of India - which specialises in the manufacture of agricultural equipment and

assembles tractors under the brand name Malhotra - is establishing a tractor assembly plant in

Zambia, predicted to create over 5,400 jobs; the firm intends the plant to serve as a distribution

centre for the southern African region. (Nawa Mutumweno)

Livestock sector development and povertyreductionAccording to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United

Nations (FAO), carefully tailored policy and institutional changes

can help to unlock the livestock sector's poverty reduction

potential; "Although an estimated 750mn poor have a major stake

in the livestock sector, only a small minority of them have so far

been able to take advantage of the opportunities provided by

livestock sector growth," say the authors of an FAO book entitled

‘Livestock sector development for poverty reduction: an economic

and policy perspective’.

Female leaders acknowledged for agricultural innovation The Yara Prize 2012 has been awarded to Dr Agnes Kalibata, Minister of Agriculture and Animal

Resources in Rwanda, and to Dr Eleni Gabre-Madhin, outgoing CEO of the Ethiopian Commodity

Exchange (ECX) in Ethiopia; the Yara Prize Committee selected these two prominent African

female leaders for their work on groundbreaking areas for the African Green Revolution: effective

public policies in support of agricultural growth, and profound innovation in agricultural markets.

The FAO says smallholderlivestock keepers need support

to gain access to investment,technology and markets


23

A ‘toolkit’ for mobile bankingand agricultural servicesThe global humanitarian agency Mercy Corps

has launched a multi-country programme

that will use mobile technologies to give

farmers a package of services to increase

their harvest - with the Agri-Fin Mobile

initiative, in partnership with the Swiss

Agency for Development and Cooperation

(SDC), identifying and connecting financial

institutions, agriculture specialists and

mobile network operators and providing

mobile-enabled, bundled packages of

financial, training and information services,

eventually to more than 180,000 small-scale

farmers, in Indonesia, Uganda, and

Zimbabwe, with the aim to expand to an

additional five countries after an initial three-

year phase; “In Africa, agricultural output is

56 per cent below the world's average,” said

New Holland Agriculture, together with its

distributor New Holland South Africa, has

showcased its full range of tractors and

harvesting equipment at the Pretoria

Spring Show in Tshwane, South Africa - with

the TD5 Series taking centre stage; farmers

were very impressed with the new series,

whose three key models range from 66 to

83kW - including Ockert Scheepers, Tractor

Product Manager at New Holland South

Africa who said, “The TD5 attracted a lot of

interest from our guests and from visitors to

our stand, and deservedly so - this series is

the perfect answer to South African farmers’

requirements in this power segment: a

tractor that combines fuel efficiency, high

performance and exceptional comfort

while offering a wide range of options,

capable of different tasks around the farm –

a true all-rounder.”

Lesley Denyes, Programme Director of Mercy

Corps’ Agri-Fin Mobile initiative, adding,

“With AgriFin Mobile, we want to give small-

scale, low-income farmers access to

resources and services that have traditionally

been beyond their reach.”

New Holland shows efficienttractor at Pretoria event

New Holland Agriculture has showcased the highlyversatile new TD5 tractor

Bulletin / AgribusinessNEWS



24

NEWS

Bulletin / InvestmentAfDB President emphasisesGuinea’s potential

The President of the African Development

Bank, Donald Kaberuka, speaking in Conakry,

Guinea, has stressed that the AfDB is

committed to working with Guinea to

develop its potential in the areas of

infrastructure and energy, and has called for

Guineans to work together in effectively

managing both the country’s economy and

governance; Mr Kaberuka also emphasised

the need for investment in human resources

at a visit to the country in mid-September

2012, to reinforce dialogue between the

Bank and Guinea, and to evaluate the

country’s economic progress as well as its

needs and priorities in terms of economic

and social development.

Investment in mobileconnectivity for rural GhanaiansAltobridge Limited, a specialist in technology

that cuts the cost of operating mobile

telecommunication networks, has partnered

with a Ghanaian communications network

solutions providers to bring mobile voice and

mobile broadband connectivity to rural

2012/13 in outstanding company financial

performance, particularly relating to auditing

and reporting standards, out of 144

economies worldwide, a result that follows

SA’s impressive move up from second place

in 2009 and fourth place in 2008; “We’re

extremely proud that we’ve achieved such a

renowned ranking for three years because

foreign and local investors looking to invest

in emerging economies will be reassured by

the reliability of our financial statements,”

says Bernard Agulhas, CEO of the

Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors

(IRBA).

South African power sector isready for investment There are huge opportunities for investment

and innovation in South Africa’s power

sector, according to Dr Steve Lennon, power

utility Eskom’s group executive for

sustainability, speaking at the fifth edition of

the Innovation Summit in Johannesburg to

entrepreneurs and creative thinkers from

academia, private companies and the

government; “The power sector has been on

a roller coaster for many decades, and there’s

a big gap in access to advanced forms of

energy across the African continen,” he said,

before calling for an integrated resource plan

(IRP) to address the prospects.

Investment in Mozambicaninfrastructure highlighted Infrastructure development in Mozambique

will be focused on expansion and

improvement projects in the transport and

energy and power sectors, with US$22bn set

to be invested in the transport sector, and

US$9.71bn is earmarked for energy and

power; in this context, iPad Mozambique

(www.mozambique.ipad-africa.com) brings

together government officials and private

investors to discuss and present infrastructure

partnership opportunities on 13-15

November 2012 in Maputo.

communities in the country; the initial rollout

phase of the satellite-backhauled, solar

powered solution, on the Tigo Ghana mobile

network, has now been completed, and

subscriber uptake and usage levels in these

hitherto unconnected, rural village

communities, have surpassed all parties’

expectations for thhehe project has been

funded by the project, which has been

funded by the Ghana Investment Fund for

Electronic Communications (GIFEC), an

implementing agency of the Ministry of

Communications set up by the Government

of Ghana to facilitate the provision of access

to ICT, Internet connectivity and

communications infrastructure to the nation’s

under-served and un-served areas.

Viridis Africa attracts clean techinvestorsViridis Africa, a clean energy investor event

taking place in mid-October 2012 in

Johannesburg, South Africa, has been

designed to attract entrepreneurs and

corporates who are seeking funding to

introduce clean technology solutions and

services over two days, incorporating investor

presentations, company and project

investment proposals - and insights into

growth, financing and development within the

cleantech sector; principals and technology

pioneers presenting business opportunities at

this event include venture capital, private

equity, project and corporate finance outfits

and others dedicated to the clean tech sector,

with American and European funding

agencies, technology specific investment

funds and major companies seeking strategic

alliances and acquisitions.

Survey agains ranks as first SAauditing and reportingThe World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global

Competitiveness Report, which is conducted

annually has ranked South Africa number

one for 2010/11, 2011/12 and now for

President of the African DevelopmentBank, Donald Kaberuka



S06 ATR Oct 2012 Finance 1_Layout 1 20/09/2012 18:03 Page 25

T hese days, providers in the financial services sector need to remain quite innovative and ready to anticipate clients’ needs; they must ably respond to a discerning and ever-changing

market, and must also continually provide relevant and meaningfulproducts and services.

Journalist Fred Ndung’u recently paid Old Mutual Kenya (OMK)group’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tavaziva Madzinga (popularlyknown as Tava) - a return visit to get a feel of recent developments atthe institution and in the sector generally.

Pulling business togetherEvidently a highly focused and determined gentleman, the youthful,friendly, confident and knowledgeable CEO had in an earlier interview

informed us that the globalgroup was undergoing anintegration process afterrealisation that operations,in isolation, of its differentstations worldwide have notbeen much beneficial.

“Cohesion is on-going and we have to travel a lot to pull thingstogether,” he had said summing up the then brief introductory session.

Today, the OMK group continues to introduce new innovativeproducts. The group’s most recent and interesting product has beenthe Rafiki Halisi Range, a low premium range of products targeted atthe mass market. It includes straight, easy-to-sell and interesting lifeinsurance, investment and education plans that do not carryconditions such as prior medical testing and certification.

“The group has engaged in a brand campaign in the mass Media(radio, TV and Billboards) and through Social Media among others toincrease its brand visibility and to increase awareness in all insuranceproducts we deal in,” explained Tava on recent initiatives. The publicityinitiatives are very useful in reaching out to the Y (youthful) generationwho comprise about 75 % of the population; this critical mass mustlearn and appreciate the usefulness and relevance of the financialservices sector. In recent months the group’s brand visibility hasincreased and benefitted operations.

On overcoming challenges and impediments to growth in thefinancial services sector: “We invest a lot of money in our globaloperations and also in the country’s operations. Here our investmentsare in the range of hundreds of billions and when the economic climatelowers stocks at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), our assets tendto decline. We are unable to protect our stocks at the NSE due to theseextraneous factors so we advice our customers and clients to invest inlong-term instruments that can weather the storms when the marketdips or ups,” Tava said and added; “It is our duty to educate customers onthe best investment vehicles especially when disposable incomes aredaily affected by inflationary pressures among other factors.”

He appreciated the many new developments that have happenedin the legislative environment guiding the capital market and theinsurance sectors. The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) has, forinstance, devised and designed new rules and guidelines that arepositively protective of both the market and consumers and henceimpacting positively by boosting consumers’ confidence and growth.The Insurance Act has also to a big extent improved the sector thoughthere still exists the need for legislation to keep moving with the timesand to adopt and adapt new ideas that take account of newdevelopments not just in the sector but in the country’s overalleconomy and the world.

A few years ago, OMK piloted a project that involved selling of it

KenyaFINANCE

26

Operations at Old MutualRunning and managing operations in the financialservices sector can be both quite challenging andinteresting, as Old Mutual Kenya’s CEO, TavazivaMadzinga, reveals

Old Mutual Kenta Group CEO, Mr Tavaziva Madzinga (Tava)


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products and services through over 100 Postal Corporation of KenyaPost Offices spread throughout the country. The programme was latersuspended owing to a challenge that arose on how to collectpremiums for life products. After the required restructuring, the PostOffice points shall still be used to market and sell investment products.The post office still remains ideal for marketing products owing to itsgood human traffic inflow and its accessibility by a multitude ofpeople countrywide.

In the last few months, the group has learnt crucial lessons that itshall keenly continue embracing. One of the lessons is that sellingtraditional insurance products is a big challenge. Among its mainproducts include financial solutions for Corporate, Small & Mediumsized Enterprises (SMEs) and Individuals.

Risk business for corporate includes Group Life Cover;Permanent/Total Disability; Disability Income; Critical Illness; GroupLast Expense and Credit Life. Risk business for individuals include Maxrange of products; Green Light range of products; and the recentlylaunched Rafiki Halisi range of products.

Investment products for corporates and SMEs include:Pension/Provident Fund Asset Management; Corporate (LifeFunds/Endowment & Charitable Trusts) Asset Management; ThirdParty Administration Services; and Asset Management Services.

Investment products for individuals include Private WealthManagement, Education Plans and Unit Trusts (Equity Fund; BalancedFund/Toboa; East Africa Fund; Bond Fund; and Money Market).

The group is keen to think widely and innovate. It is researching onhow different people and different cultures view insurance. It is keento continue providing its services in more palatable ways and isresearching to be able to make insurance and other financial servicesmore accessible and affordable. Modern IT systems including, theinternet and cloud computing, are enabling easier integration ofinsurance firms with banks while mobile networks are enabling fasterand easier payments of claims.

Courtesy of a new platform, the group shall design products that areconsistently affordable and that meet the biggest needs of the massessuch as for funerals and education. The group is experimenting withthree to four modules that are at developmental stages for mobiletransactions in insurance among other financial products.

Regulation and growth in the insurance industryIn the insurance industry, the launching of the Insurance RegulatoryAuthority (IRA) is a big step forward that will promote properregulation and growth of the industry. The raising of the capitalrequirements for investing firms will go a long way in strengtheningunderwriting companies all for public good. Some provisions in theInsurance Act need to be amended, however, to stimulate furthergrowth of the industry and economy. Policies are required for strongerand better governance of companies and to empower managementtake better control of companies as distinct entities and to enablethem weather undue influence from owners. While the IRA ispromoting more dialogue and interaction among insurancecompanies, the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) has issued newguidelines and is seeking comments and ideas first beforeimplementation of new measures-- a good development for fledglingcompanies. The adoption of risk-based solvency analysis model wherethe capital requirements depend on the risks the companies intend tocover is progressive for the industry. Advances in the ICT (informationcommunication technology) have been characterised by a very highpenetration of mobile payments; Kenyas has one of the highestpenetration levels in the East African region.

Old Mutual has to everyday think smart on how to reach clients withits products message and how to access customers’ feedback; this isespecially critical now that almost 50% of the population is under 18

years of age (Y generation); companies and organisations cannotoperate as before with regards to pension and retirement benefitspayments. Where companies have high turnover, it is pertinent forcompanies to adopt and adapt innovative pension schemes sincetraditional vehicles are no longer relevant. The group is lookingforward beyond short-term politics and economic shortfalls in thecountry. It is confident in the projected growth of the population andeconomy as envisioned in Vision 2030 Blueprint.

“The EAC region is the right place to be. I urge investors and citizensnot to be disturbed or distracted by short-term challenges. Moreoverchallenges are not unique to Kenya and occur in every society in theworld,” observed Tava. ■

FINANCEKenya

27African Review of Business and Technology - October 2012

The Old Mutual Kenya grouphead office in Upper hill, Nairobi


In rural Africa, chances are that a farmer willown a mobile phone but not a bankaccount. That is the paradox that many

Africans live with. Despite digital and mobiletechnology rapidly extending to the mostremote parts of the continent, bankingpenetration has remained dismally low.

But things are fast changing. Initiativessuch as M-Pesa, WIZZIT Payments, and MTNMobileMoney are transforming the way thatAfricans access and use financial services.Banks are increasingly looking to leveragethese innovative initiatives to reach out tolarger segments of the population, and bringmore Africans into the banking fold.

One of the key players in the market isStandard Bank who has partnered withInfosys, a leading technology servicesprovider. Infosys’ Finacle Digital CommerceSolution will enable Standard Bank toleverage agency-based banking, and offervalue-added financial services across markets,in a cost-efficient manner. Using the solution,Standard Bank will be able to reach out to avast base of remote customers through anetwork of agents.

Says Terry Moodley, Chief Executive ofPersonal and Business Banking Africa atStandard Bank, “It has taken us 148 years tobuild approximately 750 bank branches, butjust two years to get nearly 10,000 points ofrepresentation in the form of bank agents.Enabled by technology, these agents will beable to help customers open bank accountsand conduct basic transactions.”

Digital and mobile banking comes of ageMore than 2.5bn adults worldwide do nothave a formal bank account, most of them indeveloping economies. Among regions, theMiddle East and North Africa have the lowestaccount penetration with only 18 per cent ofadults reporting a formal bank account. Themost commonly reported barriers to accountuse are physical distance, lack of proper

documentation, and high costs. A checkingaccount in Sierra Leone, for instance, coststhe equivalent of 27 per cent of GDP percapita in annual fees .

For years, the unbanked have relied ontheir own savings. But their meagre incomesseverely limit their ability to pursue growthopportunities, become entrepreneurs, get agood education, or contribute to theeconomy. They need inclusive financialsystems that can keep their hard-earnedmoney safe, and provide access to vital

services such as credit, loans, and riskmanagement products.

It is here that mobile banking and digitalcommerce solutions are proving to beextremely valuable. Millions of unbankedpeople are now able to deposit and withdrawcash, purchase goods, and pay bills in arelatively cheap and secure manner throughagents who act as intermediaries, convertingelectronic money into real cash. These agentstypically operate out of retail stores, gasstations, or post offices, and sometimes make

TechnologyFINANCE

28

Banking on aninclusive AfricaHow digital commerce is enabled at financial institutions seeking to reachout to Africa’s unbanked

M. Haragopal, Senior Vice President & GlobalHead - Finacle, Infosys Limited




TechnologyFINANCE

30

daily or weekly rounds among clients. Bankscan take advantage of the agents’ existinginfrastructure and client relationships, to cost-efficiently expand their financial reach.

“As Africa approaches one billionconsumers — many of whom live inunderdeveloped areas — the opportunitiesfor banks are massive,” notes Terry. “When youthink about digital commerce, the question ishow do you leapfrog into this new era from atechnology point of view, and heighteneconomic activity and social development?”

Financial Inclusion with Finacle DigitalCommerce SolutionIn June 2012, Infosys announced thatStandard Bank would be leveraging its FinacleDigital Commerce Solution to offer a range ofvalue-added financial services to customers,especially those located in remote areas.

Standard Bank is one of Africa’s mostreputed banks with operations in 18 Africancountries, and total assets of approximatelyUS$185bn. Infosys, in turn, is a global leaderin consulting, technology and outsourcingwith revenues of over US$7bn.

Infosys’ partnership with Standard Bankbegan over two years ago when the bankchose Infosys to standardise core bankingsystems across 17 African countries. FinacleCore Banking Solution has been successfullyrolled out across Nigeria and Namibia, and iscurrently being implemented in Uganda.

Standard Bank also selected Finacle DigitalCommerce Solution to be implementedacross its operations. The solution leveragesthe power of digital money to unlock newrevenue streams, extend the reach ofdistribution, and foster customer loyalty forfinancial institutions, telecom serviceproviders, and retailers.

Speaking about the idea behind thesolution, Haragopal Mangipudi, Global

Head of Finacle, Infosys, says, “In India, a bigchunk of the population is unbanked. Avegetable or milk vendor, for instance, maynot have enough money to open a bankaccount in a branch. And if a woman inrural India has to deposit Rs.100 in a bank,she would have to take half a day’s leavefrom work, travel on a bus which wouldcost her approximately Rs.20, and wait inthe branch queue. So even if she wanted toopen a no-frills account, the wholeexperience of depositing money in thebranch would cost her quite a bit of money.Hence, we wondered if we could do awaywith the bank structure.”

The Finacle Digital Commerce Solutionenables traditional bank branches to bereplaced with agents who can offer a widevariety of services including customer on-boarding, deposits and withdrawal, bankingtransactions, and investments. The solutionalso delivers “cashless convenience” tocustomers through digital walletssupported across multiple channels such asmobiles and the Internet.

“We’re trying to spread the gospel ofcashless banking,” says Hargopal.

It’s an idea whose time has come. SaysTerry, “In South Africa, we’ve alreadydeveloped an agency-based communitymodel which will enable customers to open abank account within just 10-15 minutes, sothat they can immediately begin depositingmoney and making transactions.”

Regulatory supportMobile banking and digital commerce areopening up new avenues for financialinclusion in Africa. And it isn’t just banks andconsumers who are excited. According toHargopal, regulators in Africa are alsoenthusiastic, largely because of thetraceability that digital money enables, as

well as the efficiency of the system, andaffordability for the unbanked.

“If people have bank accounts, and are ableto transform their small disposable incomesinto micro-savings, micro-mutual funds, andmicro-insurance – that’s a powerful thing forregulators,” says Haragopal.

Observes Terry, “In Nigeria, there is aregulatory initiative to make transactionscashless. So, a lot of the bankinginfrastructure that we’ve gotten used to in therest of the world will be bypassed in Nigeria -they’ll leapfrog straight into the digital era,and get rid of cash. Imagine the efficiencythat that will bring. Banks will be able toexpand their reach to a brand new customerbase, and improve customer experience.”

Setting a trend for the worldHargopal notes that transaction costs incountries like Europe are rising. Anotherpredominant concern is the environmentalimpact of paper money.

“The planet’s resources are finite and willnot be able to support a continued demandfor paper,” says Hargopal. “Besides, today’sgeneration – the digital natives – are morecomfortable with digitised commodities.”

The time is ripe, therefore, to leveragetechnology to make transactions moreaccessible and affordable. Africa is alreadydoing that through digital commerce andmobile banking which connects lenderswith depositors, brings more customers tothe banks, reduces costs, and drivesincreased commerce.

“Africa is a wonderful continent to taketechnology to because you can witnesstangible benefits,” observes Hargopal. “Inbanking particularly, many of the lessons fromAfrica, where countries have leapfroggedtraditional banking systems, can be broughtinto developed countries as well.” ■


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“Businesses of all sizes are faced with an explosion of digital content, compounded data retentionlaws and regulations. However, the technology harnessed by enterprise to meet these challengeshas been out of reach for the majority of SMBs, until now. The WD Sentinel DX4000 is an affordable,easy to set up, scalable storage solution that meets the needs of the SMB market,” says AnamikaBudree, Western Digital Country Manager – South Africa. “This integrated hardware and softwaresolution provides a simple way to centralise documents in one secure place, with enterprise gradebackup and recovery that does not require additional license fees. It also offers remote access andadministration from a web browser or mobile device, cloud enabled architecture, and local clouddisaster protection.”

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remote access solution for any SMB


My earliest memories of banking areabout accompanying an olderfamily member to the nearby

branch to share coffee and conversationwith the manager. Since then, banking hascome a long way from the branch toestablish a ubiquitous presence throughATMs and Call Centers, and more recently,the Internet and Mobile. Yet, despitebecoming remote, banking has stillretained its social character, except thatthe socialisation doesn’t take place insidethe branch anymore. Nor is the interactionlimited to the branch staff. Instead, itembraces a vast community of people –

friends, peers,

influencers, activists, bankers, and bankingcustomers – who come together from allcorners of the globe to engage with eachother over social networks.

The phenomenal progression of socialmedia (the telephone took 75 years toreach 50 million users, television took 13,while Facebook did it in less than four!) hasgenerated much hype about socialnetworks taking over banking in the nottoo distant future. While there’s no denyingthe power of social media, it’s importantnot to exaggerate its prowess. Banking, forall its reliance on technology, isfundamentally about creating a trustedrelationship with customers – arelationship, which even today is builtthrough personal interaction. I don’t seethat happening over Facebook for a long,long time.

Delivering through social mediaSo, should banks continue to do whatthey’ve largely done so far, which is toignore the potential of social media, ordeny it altogether? The answer is anemphatic no. For, while banking may nothave migrated to the social web, over abillion customers have done so and theonly choice that banks have is to follow.

Where should banks go and what mustthey do in social media? This article

explores some ideas.Social media’s greatest potential is

in customer engagement, which itsdifferent tools contribute to indifferent ways. Social Analyticsenables banks and otherorganisations to listen andrespond to customers. Blogsmake the communication two-way; Communities enablecustomers to network witheach other as well as theirbank to discuss common

issues; Content Aggregation andDistribution helps them take thatinteraction to a new level through resourcesharing; and Mobility eliminates all barriersof time and space to enable engagementat all times, in all places.

For banks taking their first steps towardssocial media, the goal must be to simply“listen and learn”. What does that involve inthis context?● It involves “defining the question”, in

other words, figuring out: • Who is doing the talking• What they are saying• How much influence they hold

over other community members• Where they hang out• The nature of their sentiment and,• An appropriate response to the above.

● It involves selecting the topics ofconversation to be monitored from amyriad of options (Brand? Service?Corporate Image?)

● It involves listening to consumers indifferent social media forums such asblogs, chat rooms and communities, andanalysing and reporting the findings.

● Finally, it involves generating actionableinsights that are aligned to the bank’sbranding strategy. For instance,identifying which conversations arerelevant to the brand’s marketingmessage; which topics, content and

FINANCETechnology

31

How social mediacan help your bankThe reasoning underpinning banks’ attempts to adopt technologies andengage with online communities

Manish Jain, Industry Principal at Infosys


While banking may not have migrated

to the social web, over abillion customers have

done so and the onlychoice that banks have

is to follow”


TechnologyFINANCE

32

events drive consumer engagement; andwhich communities, topics, andconversations drive business value.

Analysing social businessAll of the above can be achieved throughSocial Analytics, which in the words ofJohn Lovett is “…the process of measuring,analysing and interpreting the results ofinteractions between brands andconsumers and/or businesses across digitalchannels in the context of specific goalsand objectives.”

In simple terms, social analytics enablesorganisations to gather and make sense ofthe ceaseless conversation of theircustomers. Specifically, it collects relevantdiscussions, posts, comments, reviews andother information from across the socialmedia universe, and distills what isessentially unstructured data into usableinsights.

It is a simple, cost effective way to trackcustomers’ pulse in real-time; it helps buildbrands and brand value; it is useful inevaluating marketing campaigneffectiveness and is a viable, betteralternative to traditional market research.

Banks can employ social analytics toconduct different types of analyses, namelyof sentiments, trends, media andinfluencers. The following examples areillustrative:● Social analytics can identify the general

perception of a bank by its customers byclassifying every bit of content(conversations, ratings, feedback,opinion etc.) as Positive, Negative, Mixed,or Neutral, with the help of a sentimentalgorithm. But that’s not all. It canestimate the bank’s Share of Voice byconducting a similar analysis ofconversations about its rivals.Sometimes, social analytics can flag off aproblem, which needs immediateresolution: consider for instance, that abank discovers a number of customercomplaints about the same ATM in thelast one hour. It can alert the serviceteam right away, even before they heardirectly from customers.

● Social analytics can represent datagraphically (as charts or graphs) toproject clear trends.

● It can conduct media analysis to tell thebank how its customers are distributedacross the social media universe, so thatit (the bank) can monitor the mostimportant hubs of conversation.

● Further, it can also identify the mostsocially influential participants (inconversations about the bank) based ontheir pattern of activity, the number of

inbound links to their posts, and thenumber of outbound communicationsmade by them. A popular misconception is that

responsibility for social media (and hencesocial analytics) rests solely with themarketing organisation. However, thereality is that insights from social mediacan be equally relevant to the otherfunctions within banks – from customerservice to compliance to IT. What’s more,the same information can imply differentthings to different functions. For instance,consumer demand for banking servicesdelivered over social networking sitesmight be seen as an opportunity by thesales and marketing unit, but as a source ofrisk by the compliance function. Hence, it isimportant that all the important functionswithin the organisation track social mediafrom their respective perspectives.

Finally, a word of caution. Banks, whichhave studiously avoided social media thusfar, must be careful not to swing to theother extreme. They need to test thewaters before plunging right in. The way todo that is to employ social analytics tolisten to and analyse social mediaconversations, as a first step. ■

Manish Jain, Industry Principal at Infosys

Banks can employsocial analytics to

conduct different typesof analyses of

sentiments, trends,media and infl encers ”


Manish Jain is an industry principal withInfosys and a tier leader of Infosys leadershipteam. He is an astute professional with over18 years of worldwide insightful experiencein Retail and Corporate Banking, CapitalMarket, Business Process Management andInformation Technology industry acrosslocations. He has worked with variousrenowned financial institutions.He had published various thought papersBanking, Risk and Compliance in IndianBanker journal, Bob's Guide UK and manyother blogs.

An industry leader, anopinion former

Donors welcome AfDB fund implementationThe Mid-Term Review of the African Development Fund (ADF-12)implementation that concluded in Praia, Cape Verde, in mid-September 2012 with donors and stakeholders encouraging theAfrican Development Bank (AfDB) to continue working to achieveresults in its development projects and institutional reforms. Themeeting, actually held 13-14 September, was opened by Cape Verde’sFinance and Planning Minister, Cristina Duarte, and was attended byDeputies from donor countries; AfDB Governors for Côte d’Ivoire,Ghana, Kenya and Malawi; as well as the Bank’s President, DonaldKaberuka - who thanked the deputies for their continued support ofand confidence in the Bank Group. He said, “The AfDB has producedgood results during the financial crisis and remains a reliable partner,particularly for regional integration projects and assistance to fragilestates.”President Kaberuka also congratulated Cape Verde for adoptingstanding governance policies that were conducive to the country’s

socio-economic development. And, in a critical analysis, PresidentKaberuka emphasised that, while the AfDB is a more efficientorganisation today, much remains to be done, both in terms ofinstitutional effectiveness and in supporting countries’ inclusivegrowth and the green economy.Participants attended presentations on AfDB’s operational priorities,institutional effectiveness, resource allocation, ADF’s financing capacityand sustainability over the long term, as well as on developmentresults. Deputies noted with satisfaction the implementation of theBank’s operational priorities, notably its support for fragile states, itsregional operations and improvements in fiscal governance. Withrespect to institutional effectiveness and development, the deputieswelcomed the Bank’s decentralisation policy, and its presence in 34countries, as it brings the institution closer to field, and ensures greaterresults and a positive impact on beneficiaries - as in the case of theBamako-Dakar Corridor road project.


TECHNOLOGYWipro


Over the last five years, Africa has beensteadily impacting the global businessscenario. A population of over a

billion people and nearly as many cities ofone million people as Europe places thecontinent in a prime spot to emerge a strongeconomic power centre. According toMcKinsey, Africa’s GDP in 2020 is expectedto touch US$2.6 trillion. Though oil willcontinue to be a major contributor, telecom,banking, retail and construction sectors arefast growing and flourishing.

Africa’s banking sector has grown rapidlyin the past few years. In most of the largereconomies growth in the financial sector hasoutgrown the increase in GDP. FinancialInclusion and micro finance reforms by thegovernments have enabled banks to extendservices beyond urban areas. In addition,banks in the region are beginning toincreasingly subscribe to nationaldevelopmental agendas as part of their plans.As per McKinsey, there will be 128mnhouseholds withdiscretionary incomeby 2020 and the

number of Africans of working age will reach1.1bn by 2040. Global banks have alreadyrecognised this trend and have startedinvesting in the larger economies.

Banking on technologyThe African banking marketconsists of a diverse segment ofcustomers with both sophisticatedhigh income ones as well as asignificant number of low-incomeemerging customers and the challenge aheadof the banks is to meet the demands of thisdiverse market. This scenario offers immensepotential for local banks to cash in on theopportunity. Large local banks are alreadyexpanding beyond their home countries. Butcompetition from foreign banks and non-traditional finance players means local banksneed to innovate in their core offerings andexpand into areas like corporate banking,wealth management and investment banking

which are traditional strengths of foreignplayers. An evolving regulatory environmenthas placed pressure on the investmentactivities of banks and has placed pressureon profit margins. In addition, banks in the

African region struggle with highcost to income ratios.

Banking transformation through technologyArunachalam Srinivasan, vice president, bankingproducts and emerging markets at Wipro Technologies,on the technology imperatives facing the newgeneration African banks

WIPRO - building a bankable future


WiproTECHNOLOGY

34

Technology is helping banks addressthese imperatives. Technology has evolvedso that banks can do away with disparatesystems and yet have a 360 degree view ofthe customer. Best-of-breed platforms in thetransactional and analytical space areavailable to banks, helping them becomeagile and enabling them to introduceinnovative products in quick time. Africanbanks have the opportunity to leapfrog ageneration by adopting cutting edgetechnology and go directly to using nextgeneration delivery models, cloudcomputing, mobility, analytics andcompliance management processes toreduce cost, manage risk, acquire morecustomers, and increase customersatisfaction.

Banks in Africa must focus on leveragingthe following benefits of technology: ● Differentiate from competition: Challenge

competition by offering innovativebanking services at reduced transactioncosts.

● Gain on the cost advantage: Reducemaintenance costs by integratingdisparate systems that have becomeresource intensive over time. Newbanking systems offer a high level ofscalability, reduce costs and eliminatemanual processing

● Keep pace with regulatory changes:Compliance costs are growing asregulatory requirements balloon. Thepenalty for non-compliance is daunting.Banks need to respond quickly withinsmall windows to regulatory demands.Systems that are compliant withregulatory bodies provide the necessarycapability to meet the needs.Furthermore, newer regulatory changeswill demand improved reportingstandards.

● Meet customer needs: The aim here forbanks is to simplify banking offerings andprovide an on demand banking experienceto customers. Banks must overhaul theirservices, increase self-service options andensure a consistent experience acrosschannels to retain customers.

● Be future ready with an enhanced bankingexperience: The right mix of traditionaland new age channels open opportunitiesfor increasing customer loyalty. Newbanking systems enhance customerexperience by supporting modernfacilities like image-based ATMs, DigitalWallet, Near Field Communication (NFC)and device agnostic mobile applications.Together with secure digital identitymanagement, these features build trust,cultivate customer–centricity, and driveprofitable growth.

The time for transformationAny banking transformation (either a corebanking or risk based banking transformation)is a complex task. What about the existingsystems? Would they be aligned to the newsystem or would they be disbanded? How dobanks ensure that their customers are notinconvenienced due to the transition andachieve a seamless transition to the newsystem with Business As Usual kind of ascenario? These are the typical questionsbothering the senior bankers before theyembark on a transformation journey.

Time and cost overruns can make thetransformation expensive and add risk beforethe benefits reach the end customer.Execution must therefore become the primefocus of the bank. Objectives should be clearlydefined, monitored and reassessed during theentire transformation process. For banks, ITstrategy and enterprise roadmaps must beclearly defined to enable the right technologyand application platform selection. In addition,quality, reliability, flexibility and local marketexpertise are also critical considerations thatneed to be taken into account when decidingon the right platform selections. It is, therefore, important for banks to partnerwith the right provider of all the servicesassociated with a banking platform

transformation. Wipro Technologies haspartnered with several of the top Africanbanks and also caters to a diverse customersegment across the globe that includes 50 ofthe world’s leading banks as well asmicrofinance organisations. Our solutionsacross retail, enterprise and investmentbanking address transformational changes forbanks. Our expertise with the widest range ofcore banking and banking analytics platformrelated transformation in large commercial aswell as co-operative banks in India, theMiddle East and across the globe have helpedbanks achieve greater agility withoutcompromising efficiency. Wipro Technologiesprovides value add in terms of the widespectrum of services ranging from overallproject management, consulting, businessanalysis to implementation, development,integration, data migration and testing, withcontinuous support. Be it optimising yourexisting platforms or investing in newplatforms for transformation, WiproTechnologies will be the one stop provider ofchoice across technology, operations andinfrastructure. ■

Arunachalam Srinivasan - Vice President,Banking Products and Emerging Markets,Wipro Technologies

African banks have the opportunity to adopt cutting edge technology, using next

generation delivery models, cloudcomputing, mobility, analytics and

compliance management processes to reducecost, manage risk, acquire customers, and

increase customer satisfaction”


Commitment to African BankingWipro has unwavering commitment to Africa. With over 500 employees and threeoffices in Africa and backed by a strong global team of exprienced professionals inthe banking domain, we are geared to provide tailor made IT services and solutionsfor this market. To know more about how Wipro can help visit http://www.wipro.com/industries/banking/or write to us at [email protected]


S08 ATR Oct 2012 Commerce 1_Layout 1 20/09/2012 18:05 Page 35

International Trade Malaysia (INTRADE) 2012 is organised by MalaysiaExternal Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE). MATRADE wasestablished in 1993 as the national external trade promotion agency

under Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Malaysia.MATRADE serves as the focal point for foreign importers to source forMalaysian products and services. Driven by the vision of positioningMalaysia as a globally competitive trading nation, MATRADE assistsMalaysian companies establish their presence overseas throughvarious promotional programmes (mission, participation internationaltrade fairs, capacity development initiatives, etc).

INTRADE is the annual international trade and export exhibitionorganised by MATRADE to enhance networking, business matching,exchange of ideas and knowledge amongst the business communitiesfrom different countries, especially those seeking to venture into theglobal market. The theme for INTRADE 2012 is "Energising ExportGrowth", to reflect the importance of sustaining Malaysia's exportopportunities to increase competition in the global economy.

This year INTRADE will be focusing on four specific industry sectorsthat will stimulate economic growth and bring ample businessopportunities. Known as one of the region’s leading export-orientedgeneral trade fairs, INTRADE 2012 will feature four products andservices clusters:● Automotive (automotive, parts and components).● Electrical & Electronics and Information & Communication

Technology (parts and components).● Manufacturing Supports.● Lifestyle (furniture, footwear, fashion accessories and textiles, gifts,

souvenirs and jewellery).

A showcase for tradeINTRADE 2012 is a unique opportunity for companies to showcaseexport-ready products and services to potential buyers.

Regarded as amongst the region’s most important tradeplatform, trade buyers and visitors converge at INTRADE Malaysiain order to explore and become influenced by the brands, productsand services that they see and try. The event serves as an effectivevenue for all to source Malaysia’s wide range of high qualityproducts and services.

The business of buyingIn conjunction with INTRADE 2012, MATRADE will also organisingan Incoming Buying Mission (IBM). IBM is a business matchingprogramme which sets up one-on-one business meetings forMalaysian exhibitors and companies with international buyers. IBMis a central, cost effective platform where meetings take placebetween trade buyers from various countries with localparticipants comprising exhibitors and suppliers. Foreign buyerattending the business meetings are entitled to complimentaryaccommodation (up to five days four nights stay) airport and hoteltransfers. ■

For further details on INTRADE 2012, log on to:www.intrademalaysia.my

For more information on how to participate in the IBM, contact:MATRADE Johannesburg at tel: +27-11-268.2380/1 or email to:[email protected]

MalaysiaCOMMERCE

36

The business of buying meets with the business of networking and knowledge-sharingat INTRADE Malaysia


Sourcing for Malaysianproducts? – Welcome toINTRADE 2012

INTRADE Malaysia offers opportunities to showcase and acquire high quality productsand services


COMMERCEFree Zones


Early in 2012, the Government of Ghana contracted a loan ofUS$67mn from the China Development Bank, in order todevelop the basic infrastructure of the Sekondi Industrial

Estate (SIE) - in Sekondi-Takoradi, the largest city in Ghana’s WesternRegion - so as to attract the expected industrial tenancy after suchinfrastructure is completed. The estate is being developed by HasanInvestment Ghana Ltd.

The development of the Sekondi Industrial Estate as a secondExport Processing Zone has been an objective of the Government ofGhana for several years. The proposed site was declared a Free Zonearea in 2000 - but the project was delayed while the GhanianGovernment moved to secure adequate finance for the acquisitionof the land and the development of the project.

Given the industrial potential of the Western Region and the easyaccess to port facilities for the export of products from Ghana, thenation’s government decided to focus on the development of theSekondi Industrial Estate as a priority project.

Experiences at the Tema Export Processing Zonehave informedactions at Sekondi. The Ministry of Trade & Industry and the GhanaFree Zones Board (GFZB) experienced several challenges with regardto the development of adequate infrastructure for the developmentof the Tema Export Processing Zone. Different companies have ebengiven licenses to develop the area - and work on infrastructure isonging. This experience informed the Ministry of Trade and Industryand the GFZB’s decision that prior to entering into any leaseholdarrangements for the Sekondi Industrial Estates with a developer,the Ministry of Trade & Industry acting through its agency - theGFZB - would develop the basic infrastructure for the estate such asthe drainage systems, road network, external walls, and provision ofutilities. The funds made available for the Sekondi Industrial Estateunder the CDB loan are being used for this purpose.

A subsidiary of China Hasan International Holding, HasanInvestment Ghana Ltd was granted a license to develop the SekondiIndustrial Estate. Under the provisions of the Free Zones Act (Act504), the Ghana Free Zones Board has the authority to award aDeveloper's license for this purpose. The Act envisages that a privatedeveloper can lease or sub-lease property it owns or has the right touse within a Free Zones Enclave, and imposes on the developer theresponsibility to construct and maintain buildings, warehouses andfactory shells within a Free Zones enclave, and develop thenecessary infrastructure for the efficient functioning of the zone.The developer also has the responsibility to undertake anyinvestment or financial venture to promote the development of thezone.

A satisfactory approach to developmentHasan’s concept for the development of the Sekondi IndustrialEstate was approved by the Ghana Free Zones Board (GFZB) andthe developer has promoted it as a business location toprospective tenants, with a view to ensuring that the estate ispopulated and made a vibrant industrial processing zone withinthe shortest possible time. Amongst the first anchor tenants is theBosai Minerals Group, which bears responsibility for thedevelopment of an integrated aluminium project.

GFZB has been conscious that contracts awarded in respect of theconstruction of the Sekondi Industrial Estate will comply with theterms of both the CDB loan and the Procurement Act. It is importantto note that the initial work of basic infrastructure by the GFZB on theland with funds from the CDB loan is intended to be followed byfurther development of the industrial estate - with adequate road,drainage, sewerage, walls and utility infrastructure in place - so toattract prospective tenants into the estate quickly, so to promotebusiness development, industrialisation and job creation within theproposed development and in Sekondi. Above all, the GhanaianGovernment is on record as being committed to planning thedevelopment of the Sekondi Industrial Estate specifically to ensureindustrial and commercial success, and so to help to make Ghanamore attractive to investors. ■

Ghana’s newfree zone infrastructureThe Government of Ghana has exercised a measure of caution, whilstretaining a proactive stance, on delivery of facilites for the SekondiIndustrial Estate

Sekondi-Takoradi, the largest city in Western Ghana,is already an industrial and commercial centre

(Photo: Mac-Jordan Degadjor)


Free ZonesCOMMERCE

38 African Review of Business and Technology - October 2012

Free zones offer, within geographicallydistinguished areas, laws and regulatoryframeworks to suit investors, delivering

incentives and privileges of unique value,including:● Freedom from restraint over capital

movement.● Freedom to undertake legal action

pertaining to business operation.● Freedom to determine prices of services or

products, and so to decide on profitmargins.

● Exemption from taxes, fees, and customscharges on capital assets, supplies, importand export and sales.

African association with Ajman Free ZonesAjman Free Zone has developed ties withSouth African business in recent years, whichhas extended to participation in key eventsnincluding the Southern African InternationalTrade Exhibition (SAITEX) and Africa’s BigSeven in Johannesburg, in South Africa. Theseare cross-industry events that attractmanufacturers and traders from around thecontinent and beyond Africa. Key to suchparticipation is South Africa’s engagementwith other leading emerging economies. Itsinclusion in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India,China, South Africa) framework serves to boostintra-Africa trade with particular respect toexport and import.

African association with Ajman Free Zonemay deliver success, and there has beenconsiderable interest expressed in investing inthe free zone to target the Middle Eastern,European and the Asian markets - particularly,from manufacturers and traders from theAfrican continent - due to its strategic locationconnecting the subcontinent to Africa andEurope through its active sea ports andairports.

Rishi Somaiya, Sales Director at Ajman FreeZone, has observed, "South Africa is one of the

fastest growing economies and the tradebetween South Africa - and the UAE isflourishing and is valued at over US$2bn” -adding that South African business housesand prospective investors may do well to“capitalise on the opportunity and enhanceSouth African investments in the Free Zoneand overall in the UAE", and that “UAE has over50,000 South African citizens offering them agreat lifestyle along with the benefits of taxfree income".

The advantages of leadershipUnder the auspices of Sheikh Ahmed BinHumaid Al Niaimi, Chairman of Ajman FreeZone Authority, and H.E. Mahmoud Khalil AlHashimi, the Ajman Free Zone Authority’sgeneral manager, the free zone isdistinguished by the provision of uniqueservices and facilities to companies - withinfrastructure developed to give fulladvantages to corporate expertise, to deliveroptimal performance, and so to create aconducive environment for furtherinvestment. The area is acknowledged for thequality of its management, and theencouragement it offers businesses. AjmanFree Zone Authority is a key investment basein Emirate of Ajman and the United ArabEmirates precisely because it offers numerousmeans of attracting local and foreign capitalinvestments for a variety of different economicactivities, for industrial development, and forinternational and commercial exchange.

The authority managing Ajman Free Zonesupports private sector projects, joint venturesand even public sector involvement inbusiness. By generating employmentopportunities at local level, too, it enables theacquisition of skills and experience amongstthe Emirates’ population. Due to effortsextended towards such development, AjmanFree Zone Authority has managed to attractmany companies and factories to the free zone

- particularly, with respect to industrialisation,treatment, processing, storage, packing,distribution and general trading.

Projects pertaining to the storage anddistribution of oil products include: assemblyof electrical devices and electronics,computers, building materials, garmentsmanufacturing, food stuff, trading and otherenterprises.

The Government of Ajman is partuicularlyproactive, delivering a number of incentivesand facilities to investors in the Ajman FreeZone Authority - as there are no restrictions ontransfers of profits or capital, and there is aregime of reduced customs on different goods,in addition to promotion and encouragementat exhibitions, and the publication of industrialmanuals that serve the industrial sector.

Welcoming investmentAjman Free Zone Authority is keen to securethe interest of investors and to take inconsideration their vision on services in thearea. The Free Zone continually pursuesopportunities and programmes aiming toattract the capital and investments to the FreeZone, which is realising progressive growthand attracting a considerable number ofproductive and trading companies andservices, through the implementation ofpromotional and marketing plan that targetextraction of investments. ■

Trade association atAjman Free ZoneHow the Ajman Free Zone Authority is offering unique opportunities toinvestors and business, to develop their market presence and growthrough commerce

The Ajman Free Zone offers unique benefits to business



Sharjah Airport International Free Zone,well known as the Saif Zone, was set upin 1995. It is the premier business

destination situated in the Emirate of Sharjah- the 'industrial powerhouse’ of the unite ArabEmirates (UAE), with a modern infrastructureand an emphasis on cost-effectiveness. Thereare over 5,000 companies from 92 countriesoperating in the Saif Zone today, carrying outa variety of business activities including lightto medium manufacturing, trading andproviding services such as IT, consultancy,and more.

A competitive environmentWhy Saif Zone? The answer lies in the array ofbenefits, incentives and world-classinfrastructure that Saif Zone has to offer tobusinesses.

The Saif Zone offers modern premises withstate-of-the-art facilities - including air-conditioned and fully furnished Offices, SAIFPlus facility, pre built Warehouses in fourdifferent sizes that come with office space(sizes available: 1,345 Sqft/2,690 Sqft/4,304

Sqft/6,456 Sqft), temporary storage space,land for unrestricted development, andlabour accommodation. Other facilitiesinclude the benefit of a sophisticatedbanking sector, exchange house services,travel agencies, car rental services,supermarkets, and restaurants.

A competitive fee structure, inexpensiveenergy costs, and sponsorship and visas forexpatriate staff are just some of theadvantages. Free from bureaucratic redtape, the registration process enableslicenses to be issued within 24 hours. Theother benefits its investors enjoy include100 per cent foreign ownership, 100 percent repatriation of capital and profits, 100per cent exemption from income andcorporate taxes, on site labouraccommodation, access to over two billionconsumers, and more.

A growing business communitySharjah and its business community benefitsby being the only Emirate in the UAE withseaports on both the Arabian Gulf (Port

Khalid) and the Indian Ocean (Port KhorFakkan). Combined with the facilities atSharjah International Airport, this locationprovides the Saif Zone a unique logisticaladvantage via superb land, sea and air links.

Encouraged by its growing success overthe years, the Saif Zone is now embarking onits next phase of expansion to meet thegrowing demand of its investors wanting toset up operations at the Zone. It is in thiscontext, that the Zone’s representatives todayare visiting various countries to offer itsservices and the opportunity to investors toset-up their businesses at the Saif Zone,Sharjah.

The Free Zone's ‘one window’ conceptprovides all administrative services under oneroof. Equipped with the state-of-the-artfacilities, the Saif Zone offers unbeatabletrade incentives and unparalleled benefits toits investors making it the "free zone ofchoice".

With the assurance of a warm welcome andan opportunity to globalise your business,the Saif Zone is at your service. ■

Free ZonesCOMMERCE

40

The freedom of doingbusiness your wayProfiling Sharjah Airport International Free Zone - known as the Saif Zone- Sharjah’s leading business destination

The Saif Zone offers an array of benefits,incentives and world-class infrastructure to

businesses from around the world




With over 5,700 companies from 140countries within its precincts,Hamriyah Free Zone takes pride in

its contribution to the economic growth ofSharjah and the UAE and its emergence as agrowth engine of the local economy.Thequality of the investor footfall at HamriyahFree Zone speaks for itself. I thank them fortheir continued support over the years, andfor the confidence they have shown in ourfuture. our success story is indeed a reflectionof the core values and principles embodied inthe founding of the HFZA in November 1995 .Rashid Al Leem

A global playerOur global coverage now encompasses 5,700companies from across 140 countries and weare aiming to touch the 6,000-mark this year.Not lofty aspirations, but very achievablegoals considering the work-friendlyenvironment, minimum regulations, workingwith international standards, transparencyand red carpet treatment that we offer.

Our success story is, indeed, a reflection of

the core values and principles embodied inthe founding of the HFZA in November 1995.A focused marketing strategy wherein weidentified our key strengths - includingmeasuring effectiveness of policies andprograms, introduction of attractiveincentives and supporting these withaggressive branding has had a great impacton our business development.

In 2012, we extended our services intoseveral new markets, most recent beingsouth America , Taiwan and Kazakhstan.However, while we will continue to focus onour existing core markets such as theSubcontinent, Asia and Europe, there will begreater thrust on Africa, which is a region thathas long been overlooked in global corporategrowth strategies.

Poised for growthAfrica, like many emerging markets, is poisedfor explosive growth and opportunity. Ourfocus will be on tapping into the power of itslargely unutilised resources and uniquedemographics in what is still a relativelyuncompetitive market. Globally, the Africangrowth story has seen its marketsincreasingly gaining mainstream acceptance.Especially with developed economies onrather shaky grounds, I believe, capturingnewly emerging markets will be critical inbreaking free of the long-running globaleconomic recession.

Hamriyah Free Zone (HFZ) has one of themost progressive and fast-evolvinglandscapes for the SMEs & MBs to thrive. Weare committed to supporting small firms andhave formulated explicit policies anddesigned special programs to help developcompetitive and resilient SMEs that areequipped with strong technical andinnovation capacity as well as managerial andbusiness skills. Our unique custom-designedseven SME clusters comprising of the Oil &

Gas Zone; Timber Land; Maritime City;Petrochemical Zone; Construction World;Perfume Land; and Steel City are attractinghundreds of new and small businessmen,from across the globe , serving as a testamentto our success.

It has been a terrific year for HFZA so far.Despite the continuing turmoil in the globaleconomy, HFZA has already notched upcontracts of 950 new companies. Our sightsare set on penetrating more new markets,and we are looking towards channelling ourresources to help emerging businesses byempowering investors. ■

Dr Rashid Al Leem, Director General at SharjahDepartment of Seaports & Customs andSharjah Free Zones Authority

Free ZonesCOMMERCE

42

A gatewayto global businessHow Hamriyah Free Zone contributes to economic growth in Sharjahand in the UAE - and is poised to support commercial developmentacross Africa

Dr Rashid Al Leem, Director General at SharjahDepartment of Seaports & Customs and Sharjah Free

Zones Authority


With over 5,700companies from 140countries within its

precincts, HamriyahFree Zone takes pride in

its contribution to theeconomic growth of

Sharjah and the UAE andits emergence as a

growth engine of thelocal economy”


S10 ATR Oct 2012 Technology_Layout 1 20/09/2012 16:50 Page 43

SecurityTECHNOLOGY


Transporting goods, particularly highvalue consumer goods, has become anincreasingly dangerous task in Africa.

Criminals target goods-in-transit vehicles.Theft of cargo has become a major issue forlogistics companies. The challenge with this isthat these crimes usually occur when goodsare ‘on the move’. Technology, however, is theanswer with live remote video monitoringsolutions, designed specifically for thetransportation sector that makes use ofbandwidth optimisation.

These specialised solutions create a livevideo connection, enabling logistics andsecurity organisations to keep a close eye onvehicles in the event of an emergency. Byhaving the units enabled with GPS and bio-directional audio, control rooms are able topinpoint vehicle location as well as view livevideo anywhere where there is cellular datacoverage. This allows controllers to identifyrisky situations, and a host of other features

enable a more proactive approach toprotecting important assets, goods and people.

Effective monitoringWith an effective proactive monitoring andsurveillance solution, transport and securitycompanies can take advantage of severalbenefits. Live monitoring provides anaccurate visual of the current location of thevehicles and their environment. If faced witha dangerous situation or threat, live videomonitoring allows the control room to takeaction quickly. It enables fast and easy

location of the trucks. As ‘time to respond’ iscrucial with conviction of perpetrators, thistechnology significantly improves theopportunity to apprehend the perpetratorsand recovery of goods. Live video streamingalso enables better contact with drivers out inthe field, and with a full monitoring andsurveillance solution, can trigger alarms andlive video feeds automatically with eventssuch as the unauthorised opening of cargodoors, acting as a ‘panic button’ for drivers indistress, automatically alerting control roomoperators to the event in the field. ■

Proactive surveillanceCracking down on crimes such as

goods-in-transit heists requires intelligent use of appropriate technology solutions, enabling a

more proactive approach and providing evidence for law enforcement”


TECHNOLOGYSecurity


Database security is possibly the mostimportant and compleximplementation project any

organisation will undertake. Not only is itcritical to ensure that information containedwithin the database is secure from a host ofexternal threats, including viruses, phishingscams and the like, the need for internalsecurity is also increasing. With the rise inincidences of identity theft, corporateespionage and fraud, internal security toolssuch as identity and access management,amongst others, have become increasinglyimportant on the corporate agenda.

Security policies and guidelinesSimply buying technology without a solidunderstanding of the risks posed andorganisation’s needs is pointless. Riskassessments should be conducted in everyarea of operations. These assessments andidentified risk areas need to be documentedand turned into security policies, which mustbe approved by the Board of Directors.

Rules and parameters such as securitypolicies need to be set otherwise it remainsunclear exactly what security solutions needto accomplish, making it impossible to gaugewhether or not security is meeting businessrequirements. Policies and guidelines alsohelp to ensure that staff members know whatis expected of them regarding security and in

turn, this helps to ensure compliance.Without rules, compliance is impossible.

Business process analysisSecurity must take into account therequirements of the business andaccommodate the normal business functionswithout major disruption. Security solutionsshould also be secure enough to preventbreaches, while remaining flexible enough toenable people to still do their jobs. This is adelicate balancing act that cannot beachieved without analysis and understandingof business processes. Business processanalysis should be the starting point to any ITrollout and implementation, and databasesecurity is no exception.

PeopleSecurity must take into account not onlytechnology, but people and processes as well,and the reality is that few organisations manageto get this right. Much focus has been given tosecuring the database from external threatsthat internal threats are ignored, and yet themajority of fraud cases and data theft occur onthe inside.Access and Identity Management are critical toensure that employees (and partners) haveaccess only to the data they need to enablethem to do their jobs, without compromisingsensitive information.

Planning and forecastingSecurity implementations can be a time-consuming affair and it is vital to understandwhat the desired future state of the databasesecurity should be. A roadmap needs to be inplace to forecast the project stages to ensurethat implementations run on time, on budgetand meet organisational expectations.

Security infrastructureInfrastructure is the heart of the database.Systems need to support standards and policiesand enable security solutions to functionoptimally. It is one thing to have multiplestandards and policies in place, but these needto be enforced if they are to be successful.However, infrastructure also needs to be ‘fit forpurpose’ and implemented correctly otherwiseit will be unable to deliver as expected.

Just how valuable is your data?These five steps work in harmony with eachother to help organisations plan and deliversuccessful database securityimplementations. While they do notnecessarily need to be completed in order,they all need to be tackled as each phase isnecessary to ensure a secure environmentand to prevent any breaches. ■

Gerrit-Jan Albers, Service Delivery Manager atRDB Consulting

Identifying, accessing,managing information

+ 44 (0)1582 578 160 [email protected] www.wavesight.com

DIGGINGIS FOR

DUMMIESSecure outdoor wireless CCTV transmission

solutions


Whether you’re interested in savingthe planet, or your primarymotivation is stripping costs out of

your business, you can kill two birds with onestone by sharpening up your office documentstrategy.

Billed as one of the last great uncontrolledcosts in business, office printing and copyingrepresents between one and three per cent ofan organisation’s turnover (according toGartner), making it a large target in terms ofreducing the impact on your business’sbottom line. Furthermore, the Carbon Trustestimates that office machines represent 15per cent of the energy consumption in theaverage office, a figure that is expected to riseto 30 per cent by 2020.

The good news is that many of theimmediate actions you can take to reduceexpenditure on items such as toner, paperand energy consumption cost little, and willgenerally pay for themselves in terms ofimproved efficiency. And if you decide toreally invest in streamlining your printing andcopying network by deploying a fullymanaged service, you can expect to seeoperational cost savings of anything up to 50per cent and sometimes more.

Good housekeepingStill the most important advice for instantlycutting electricity consumption: If you’re notusing a machine, switch it right off. Installingseven-day timers takes the human elementout of remembering to switch off devicesovernight and at weekends, and the CarbonTrust has calculated that 70 per cent energysavings can be made simply by switchingperipheral IT equipment off out of office hours.

Take a walk around your office. How manyprinters are currently printing, and how manyare on standby? On average a printer spendsonly 20 per cent of its time actually churningout pages. The rest is spent on “standby”. Whilethe stand by setting uses less power than the

full printing mode, it can still be upto 90 percent more power than the “sleep” mode, somake sure that your office printers and MFDsare configured to enter sleep mode after theshortest practical time period – this is easilydone via the control panel on each device.While you’re configuring your existing devices,why not set them to duplex print as default?This saves users having to specify duplex and iseasily reversed by users if simplex printout isnecessary. And it generates an “instant” papersaving of up to 50 per cent.

Driving efficiencyWhile the advice above can help to improvethe efficiency of an existing print fleet, to reapthe biggest financial and productivitybenefits, a more comprehensive approach isneeded. Managed Document Services are bignews in the print industry at the moment,and with good reason. Organisations thathave completely overhauled their printingand copying networks are reportingenormous operational savings and totalvisibility of an area of IT that was previouslyvery difficult to get a handle on.

A typical managed document service hasseveral stages, which build upon one anotherto create the best solution for yourorganisation. The first step is an audit ofnetwork printing activity. Many organisationshave very little visibility of how much printinggoes on, or even how many devices theyown. A data collection agent, installed on thenetwork for a month, gives a clear insight intowhere high volume printing is occurring. This

then offers the opportunity to engage with“power” users and understand theirrequirements. You can make sure that theright devices are serving the right users, sopower users have low cost, high volumemachines, while occasional users havesmaller, less energy-hungry devices.

Change managementWhen making a big change to your IT systemit’s important to engage with your users at keypoints in the process to minimise resistance tothat change. Users who find their personalprinter abruptly removed from their desk havebeen known to go and purchase another frompetty cash, which will defeat the object of theexercise. Explaining the financial andproductivity benefits of rationalising devicesand detailing the functionality on offer withthe new system will help to smooth thetransition. Communication is key, andreporting on the successes in terms ofreduced expenditure, paper and energy useshows employees that the change isworthwhile. With a complete MDSprogramme you will receive full managementreporting data on the performance of yournetwork, so it will be easy to identify thebigwin areas to shout about.

When you compare your energy, toner andpaper consumption figures with thebenchmark data you established at the startof the project, you should see that whetheryou decided to go the no-cost route ofoptimising your existing printing system, orinvested in a complete managed documentservice, you’ve achieved a significantreduction in printing costs and reduced yourcarbon footprint at the same time. It makessound commercial sense, and reduces yourcarbon footprint too. So why not get startedstraight away? ■

Tracey Rawling Church, Director of Brand andReputation, Kyocera

PrintersTECHNOLOGY

46

Low cost, low carbondocument handlingWhy an organisation’s printing practices can cost as much as three per centof corporate turnover, and what to do about it


Before you begin your crusade to cut costsand carbon emissions, you need to knowwhere you’re starting from. Get hold of yourelectricity consumption figures, and find outhow much you’re spending on consumablessuch as paper and toner cartridges

Setting your baselines


S11 ATR Oct 2012 Transport_Layout 1 20/09/2012 18:07 Page 47

In order to improve productivity andefficiency in challenging shippingapplications in coastal regions,

internationally-recognised conveyorequipment manufacturer Melco has installedits range of Supreme high-densitypolyethylene (HDPE) rollers on entire conveyorbelt systems at ports across South Africa.

Melco sales and marketing director CraigWarmback explains that HDPE is apolyethylene thermoplastic, and offerssuperior resistance to abrasion and corrosion,and provides the conveyor belt system with alifecycle often exceeding 12 years.

Improving conditionsWarmback highlights the fact that the Port ofRichards Bay has been making sole use ofMelco’s state-of-the-art range of HDPE rollerson all of its conveyor belts since 1990. “OurHDPE rollers, branded as the Melco Supremeroller, have a longer lifespan than standardsteel rollers in harsh port conditions, thanksto a 12 mm external HDPE sleeve, whichensures overall cost savings with regards tomaintenance and downtime.”

The machined finish of the Melco HDPEroller results in low total indicated run-out,which ultimately minimises vibration andnoise levels, adds Warmback. “The reduction ofnoise pollution is essential to all ports, as manyaim to increase productivity without theconsequent increase in noise levels, due to the

fact that most harbours are located fairly closeto residential areas with a high populationdensity. What’s more, HDPE is fully-recyclableand is, therefore the most environmentally-friendly roller available in the local market.”

Melco works closely with numerous otherport authorities in South Africa, and Melcoidler sets and rolls can also be found inDurban harbour, the Port of Saldanha Bayand Port Elizabeth harbour. Melco managingdirector Gavin Hall notes that Melco wasinvolved in the successful 2009 R50mn(US$6mn) conveyor upgrade project at thePort of Saldanha Bay.

“Melco was involved in the entire upgradeof the port’s conveyor belt system, in order toincrease throughput. With regard to theconveyor idlers, the existing 5-roll garlandswere replaced with deep trough 3-rollunderslung idlers, which increased thematerial cross sectional area byapproximately 20 per cent,” he explains.

Hall points out that this involved theinstallation of 2.4 km of conveyor belts, inaddition to four stacker-reclaimers, whichtransport the product from the conveyoronto the ship. “The upgrade has enabledSaldanha to increase its iron ore tonnagesfrom 20mn tons, to 47.6mn tons last year. Acombination of the iron ore and the sea aircreates a highly-corrosive operatingenvironment for conveyor systems atSaldanha, hence the Port of Saldanha

required a very specialised painting system toall steel rolls and frames.”

Steadily increasing, greater capabilitesLooking to the future, Warmback believesthat demand for the Melco range of HDPErollers will continue to increase steadily,particularly in the local ports industry. “Portauthorities are continually looking to improvecompetitiveness by operating more reliableequipment, and the Melco range of HDPErollers have been proven to far outlastcompetitor products, especially with regardsto corrosion resistance and lifespan. Thisensures that they are more cost-effective,while transporting higher tonnages at fasterrates,” he concludes.

Founded in 1970 with the aim of supplyingworld-class conveyor components to theSouth African mining industry, Melco is todayone of the largest suppliers of idlers androllers in Africa. Melco is an ISO 9001:2008approved company that operates a highly-specialised testing facility, where products aretested under laboratory-controlledenvironments prior to field-testing, full-scalemanufacture and supply. This process ensuresthat Melco products are among the mostadvanced in the world. Melco also operatesquality management systemswhich controlevery aspect of the company. These systemsare audited regularly to ensure compliancewith the highest standards. ■

ShippingTRANSPORT

48

Improving productivityat port facilitiesHow the right conveyor equipment can help local port authorities andshipping companies to maintain high standards of output and efficiency

Melco’s range of HDPE rollers havebeen proven to outlast competitorproducts


The deployment of HDPE rollers willcontinue to increase steadily in the localports industry

Melco works closely with numerous portauthorities in South Africa

World-class conveyor components forthe South African shipping industry


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FIT FOR THE FOLLOWING EQUIPMENTS:- FLAT BEDS- DRILLING EQUIPMENTS- SERVICE FILLING UNITS- WATER/FUEL TANKS


The International Chamber ofShipping (ICS) whose 36 membernational shipowners’ associations

represent all sectors and trades and morethan 80 per cent of the world merchantfleet, called earlier this year on theInternational Maritime Organization (IMO)to accelerate a critical study into theglobal availability of low sulphur fuel forships.

The ICS has been expressing concern forsome time about whether sufficient fuelwill be available to allow ships to complywith strict IMO regulations aimed atreducing sulphur emissions - and whether,as result of insufficient supply, the costsfor those ships which are able to obtainthe required fuels might be prohibitivelyexpensive.

In an important submission to the IMOMarine Environment ProtectionCommittee (MEPC), meeting in October2012, the ICS has again pressed the IMO tostart work on a study that can consider theimpact all of the major changes requiredby the new MARPOL regime, before it istoo late for the oil refining industry torespond and invest.

Progressing towards controlThere is already a formal mechanism inMARPOL Annex VI for IMO to complete areview, by 2018, of progress made towardsmeeting the demand for 0.5 per centsulphur fuel that must be used globallyoutside of Emission Control Areas (ECAs)by 2020 or 2025. However, ICS stressesthat the enormity of the switch to distillateand its economic impact on shippingshould not be underestimated.

ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffesaid, “Governments will surely want toavoid any perception that a blind eye hasbeen turned to the practicalimplementation of the measures as theissue of fuel availability becomes

increasingly pressing. It is essential that aglobal fuel availability study is carried outsufficiently in advance of 2020 in order togive the refiners adequate time to investand react. The major refinery upgradingrequired could take a minimum four or fiveyears, perhaps longer, and we fear thatcompleting the study in 2018 wouldsimply be too late.”

He added, “The need to move forwardthe IMO study is more important than evernow that the European Union hassignalled that it will definitely implementthe 0.5 per cent requirements in 2020,even if the IMO study results suggest, aspermitted by MARPOL, that fullimplementation should be postponeduntil 2025 to ensure the availability ofsufficient quantities of compliant fuel.”

In its submission to IMO, ICS hassuggested that a preliminary IMO study ofthe availability of compliant fuel, takinginto account the introduction of the 0.1per cent sulphur in fuel requirements tobe used in the Baltic Sea, North Sea andthe North American ECAs in 2015, wouldprovide a suitable test case. Such a studywould provide a projection of possiblescenarios resulting from the introductionof the 2015 0.1 per cent ECA standard,against the background of the worldmarket. This could then be considered incomparison with the real situationencountered in 2015.

Mr Hinchliffe emphasised, “When theglobal requirement to switch to distillatewas adopted four years ago, ICS supportedthe agreed IMO timetable as an acceptablecompromise. But if the switch to lowsulphur fuel is to be successful, thosegovernments that advocated suchambitious goals need to do everythingpossible to help ensure that the refineriesare able to deliver. We strongly believe thismeans undertaking the required studies offuel availability as soon as possible.”

Fuel is by far the largest operational costfor shipowners and has already increasedin price by about 300 per cent since 2000.However, the current 50 per cent pricedifferential between low sulphur distillateand the residual fuel oil that is currently inuse is predicted to increase further if thenew demand that will be created by theMARPOL requirements is not matched byincreased supply. (Exhaust gas cleaningsystems or “scrubbers” have beenpredicted to cost in excess of US$2mn perengine if fitted on board larger ships.However, it is still unclear whether thesewill be technically, environmentally, oreconomically viable for use on awidespread basis before the 2015 or 2020deadlines. ■

ShippingTRANSPORT

50

The billion dollarsulphur switchMaritime experts are calling for a study into the availability of low sulphurfuel for merchant shipping companies

Shipping operations, such as this off Cape Town in SouthAfrica, may be directly impacted by availability ofsulphur diesel (Photo: Clarissa de Wet)


It is essential that a global fuel availability

study is carried outsufficiently in advance

of 2020 in order to givethe refiners adequate

time to invest andreact”

ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe”



52

EQUIPMENT

Transport


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Smit Lamnalco brings Sierra Leone ore to marketSmit Lamnalco has played a pivotal role inbringing two export projects to fruition thatwill see Sierra Leone’s re-emergence as a keyglobal source of iron ore. The marine supportand logistics specialist provided the turnkeyservices to assist African Minerals Limited(AML) in exporting ore from its Tonkolili mine,whose life expectancy is in excess of 60 years,with resources of an estimated 12.8Bn t.

Smit Lamnalco has been contracted for aninitial five years to support AML’s fullyintegrated mine-rail-port transport systemconnecting Tonkolli to the port of Pepel.Shoreside, Smit Lamnalco has deployed fourDamen-built 3212 terminal and towing tugsto ensure that ships enter and exit the port’schallenging approaches safely. AML alreadyplans to develop a new rail spur from the

existing railway, connecting Tonkolili to anew large deep water port at Tagrin.Investors include Shandong Iron and SteelGroup, and China Railway MaterialsCommercial Corporation.

The exporter expects the operation toramp up to 20Mtpa in its Phase 1 operations,and become the largest contributor to GDPin Sierra Leone.

In a second deal, London Mining Plccontracted Smit Lamnalco to provide acomplete logistics and marine package tosupport exports from the upriver Marampamine. London Mining plans to develop aproduction rate of 5mtpa of premium sinterconcentrate by the end of 2013; this willfurther increase to 17mtpa in Phase 2developments of the mine’s 25 year life.

Support includes on-transit tug and bargeservices along 40km of Port Loko River fromthe Thofeyim River Port to Freetown Harbour.The waterborne transit involves four shallowdraft Smit Lamnalco tugs towing four 93mlong barges to the coast.

Smit Lamnalco operations along the Port Loko river


Roughly 22 per cent of the world’spopulation still does not have accessto electricity and this represents up to

two billion people at this time, most ofwhom live in remote areas often difficult toaccess and difficult to connect to national orregional electricity grids. The InternationalEnergy Agency (IEA) estimates that roughly85 per cent of those without electricity livein rural areas in developing countries, mostlyin urban extremities or remote regions ofsub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. By 2030,the IEA predicts that if no new policy toalleviate energy poverty is introduced, 1.3bnpeople (some 16 per cent of the total worldpopulation) will still be denied electricity inthese regions. Whilst renewable energysources are increasingly being used the rolefor diesel generators remains strong.

Comparing policiesIn the IEA’s 2010 comparative study on ruralelectrification policies in emerging

economies South Africa is among fourcountries, (Brazil, China, India are the others),whose efforts to improve access to electricityservices are discussed in detail, and whilesimilar challenges are faced by each country,the means of addressing them are varied.

The electrification efforts of South Africahave, to date, achieved more than 65 percent electrification rate, although thesituation in sub-Saharan Africa is different,where electrification is closer to 10 per centin most places although with someexceptions Ghana and Cameroon where it ishigher.

The study detailed some pre-requisites,which it determined as necessary forsuccessful rural electrification and amongthese was the full involvement of the ruralcommunities in any electrification effortsand throughout the decision-makingprocess. This was seen as essential toincrease a rural community’s sense ofownership of any power supply or solution,

in turn lending local support to a utility orgenerating company’s efforts to encouragecustomers to use electricity carefully onceconnected. In relation to stand-alonesystems, such as diesel generators, the IEAemphasised requirements for ruralapplications and that such systems requiregood management and maintenance byadequately trained local personnel, as wellas the existence of effective supply chains iflong-term use is to be sustained. But itsuggested, too, that many of the challengesfaced could be overcome if the prevalentidea among remote village communitiesthat stand-alone systems were a ‘second-class’ source of electricity was dispelled, andthis is where the sense of ownership playedits part.

While many electrification policies targetpoor rural households, a mix of farms, largevillages and small towns are also key targetsand these larger applications typicallyrequire different technologies. Indeed, rural

POWERGenerators

53

Rural electrification and the use of dieselgenerators in AfricaGenset market analysis, with recent developments and key companiesoperating in markets for the import and export of power supply units


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GeneratorsPOWER


electrification policies are shaped accordingto a variety of energy needs, resources andtarget groups – electrifying the suburbs ofmajor cities poses problems different tothose of remote villages.

Rural challenges Rural electrification is the process by whichaccess to electricity is provided tohouseholds or villages in isolated or remoteregions where electricity supply is missingdue to challenges such as: distance fromnational or regional electricity grids, poorand isolated access across difficult terrain,rivers and jungles, or harsh climaticconditions.

In addition, rural communities are oftenhighly dispersed and a low populationdensity is often accompanied by low levelsof education, low levels of disposableincome and, in relation to powerrequirements, low load density typicallyconcentrated during peak evening hours.

With such challenges, providing electricityto the world’s rural poor requires acommitted and long-term strategy. However,the IEA stresses that the choice of a specificenergy technology for rural electrificationdepends on the targeted region and all itsattributes of geography and climate, as wellas the community itself and the types ofapplication for which power will be used.‘The various potential energy technologiesfor rural electrification programmes is largeand each technology naturally varies in itsgeneration technique, its costs, and in thequality of the service it delivers. Dependingin part on the degree of urbanisation of thetargeted population, energy technologiesused in electrification programmes generally

involve national or regional grid extension,diesel generators, liquefied petroleum gas(LPG), disposable batteries, kerosene lamps,renewable energies (including photovoltaicsystems, wind energy, hydropower, and newwave energy and hydrogen) or hybridsystems. But it is the diesel generator withwhich we will concern ourselves further.

Diesel generators have been conventionalmeans of power supply for dispersedpopulations and while they remain anattractive technology in rural electrification,they are being used increasingly in hybridsystems. This is in part due to a definiteincrease in the desire for and presence ofrenewable energy systems, which are nowbeing viewed in many quarters as theoptimal means of bringing electricity to ruralareas that cannot be connected to the grid.

Hybrid systems, increasingly in use acrossAfrica, are basically a combination of two ormore different butcomplementary energy supplysystems located on the same site.The advantage of hybrid systemsis their ability to

avoid fluctuations in the system’s energysupply, which is the main disadvantage ofstand-alone renewable energy technologiessuch as wind and solar. A hybrid system willprovide a relatively constant delivery ofenergy even when one of the supply devicesof the system is unable to generate power,so a diesel genset will often now be coupledwith solar, wind systems, small hydropowersystems.

Saving electricity from whatever source Bolstering its 2010 comparative study onrural electrification the IEA came out with anew report in H2 2011, discussing howcountries can minimise the economic, socialand environmental impacts of electricityshortages by developing emergencystrategies to save energy well in advance ofcrises. Nobuo Tanaka, ExecutiveDirector of the

Product shot of the 400 kW.More and more diesel generators are adhering to

strtict environmental regs and Kohler prides itself in manufacturingunits to exacting standards to reduce impact on air quality and noise

Every single business in Nigeria, whether small,medium or very big, has, as part of its inventory for

power supply, a generator. Every single business’.While this and other country-specific points

mentioned relate to Nigeria, a similar scenario existsin most Sub-Saharan African countries, although to

a lesser extent in South Africa.”Business Monitor International spokesperson.



IEA, noted that electricity shortfalls are likelyto continue as political, regulatory andfinancial hurdles make it difficult forgovernments and energy utilities to investthe estimated USD 16.6 trillion needed tomeet annual growth in global electricitydemand of 2 per cent over the next 25 years.He said that natural events such as droughtsand earthquakes, as well as plant repairs ofinstalled systems, will continue to posereliability issues for existing supply.

The report says it is crucial forgovernments and utilities to encourageelectricity savings as prolonged shortfallswill reduce economic competitiveness bycreating uncertainty in supply andincreasing costs of electricity. And althoughextended shortfalls can be filled by the useof diesel generators by consumers facedwith blackouts the issue of air qualitysuffering as a result was highlighted.

The report highlighted initiatives in SouthAfrica where authorities communicated withthe public about the need to save electricity

and avert blackouts, and implemented aninnovative Power Alert message systemproviding real-time information on powersupply shortfalls and recommendations forconsumers as to actions needed to minimizethe effects on their daily lives.

The need for diesel generators So, it’s no wonder that where there is no gridpower for reasons of geography/terrain,economics of delivery, alternatives have beensought for generations, and no one type ofalternative has provided so much power toremote users as the diesel generator or genset.

Diesel generators have provided an ideal,versatile and easy-to-use source of power fordomestic as well as high-energy applicationsin many remote-region scenarios, and aretypically used as standalone installations, oras part of hybrid configurations workingalongside other energy sources such as solaror wind power – telecoms base stationsincreasingly use such systems. Hybrids offerthe chance of the consumer to use the

lowest cost option depending on theoperating environment and time of day –generator at night, solar by day.

For applicatioins such as lighting,irrigation pumping, cottage industries, andrural processing facilities, diesel gensetshave changed the face of agriculture in manydeveloping regions. The critical activity ofirrigation alone relies on millions of smalldiesel engines across Africa to run pumps,without which crops would not grow.

And in the growing IT industry ofdeveloping nations, an industry that isproving crucial to social and economicdevelopment, diesel generators – as well ashybrid systems - are providing importantprimary as well as back-up sources of powerfor data centres and government projects forwhich uninterrupted power supply isessential. In contrast to the sophisticatedbusiness continuity measures seen in manydeveloped countries, the simple presence ofa back-up generator in a developing worldscenario will be the difference between

GeneratorsPOWER

56

Volvo Penta has been supplying Rovos Rail in South Africa for more than a decade.Engines are housed in Power Cars and the configuration in which the generator setsare located is typically one carriage with one Prime Unit and a second back-up unitinstalled. The one genset will run continuously but should problems be experienced,Rovos Rail engineers have the option to switch over to ensure the comfort ofpassengers is not compromised. The gensets provide necessary electrical power torun the soft lighting, air conditioning, under floor heating, hot showers and otherpower driven passenger services. There are five such Power Cars in the Rovos fleet

and as Maintenance Manager, Coenie van der Walt explained, “All stock is runningand we have very few problems.”The latest model TAD734GE offers 250 KVA (Prime power) and is capable of runningthe auxiliary services for the whole train. Coenie confirms that the Volvo Pentaengines are reliable and fuel efficient. “We have calculated up to 20 per cent fuelconsumption savings with these units,” he comments. The engines are expected torun for 23,000 hours before they need overhauling or repair. This equates to morethan 2½ years of continuous running time.




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success and failure, safety of or loss of data in a developing worldapplication.

And not surprisingly, as the demand for energy, highlighted by theIEA, increases, many of the developing world’s utility companies arefinding it hard to keep up with needs and the regularity of blackoutsand brownouts in many regions results in the use of diesel generatorsas backup in residential and commercial buildings.

But it’s not simply land-based and static applications for whichdiesel has been crucial; in many regions barge-mounted dieselgenerators or BMDs, have been useful alternatives to land-based fixedpower generation plants for activities including mining and offshoredrilling where they can be moved, as required, to locations where theyare needed. Typically operating in a range between 5-50 MW, severalgenerators can be housed and connected on a single barge to providemore than 100 MW of power.

While the greatest barriers to owning and operating a power-generating solution in the developing world are capital expenditure(capex) and operating expenditure (opex)-related, diesel gensetsremain the most affordable and cost-effective solution whencompared to alternative energy sources – at least from a capexperspective. In terms of opex, including O&M and fuel, gensets andrenewable sources are similar in cost, with the price of fuel, unitquality/make, and correct and regular maintenance (provided byqualified individuals) being the main opex incurred. And when itcomes to fuel in remote areas, it is not just the price per gallon, whichis a factor, it is the logistics and manpower required in getting heavyjerry cans or bowsers into remote regions to resupply the units. Dirttracks, jungle paths and often rivers are the only route into someremote domestic village communities and the re-supply logistics canend up costing too much. For remote enterprise settlements opex isnot such a prohibitive issue and fuel will invariably get through nomatter what the cost. And while diesel fuel does actually costmarginally more than petrol more energy can be extracted from itcompared to the same volume of gas and it operates with significantlymore efficiencies. In fact, per KiloWatt of energy produced the costs ofrunning a diesel generator are 30-50 per cent less than a petrol-drivengenerator.

And the wear and tear of running diesel engines is less than petrol.For example, diesel gensets are now much quieter than earlier unitsand require less O&M compared with petrol-driven sets, this is in partdue to the fact that no sparking is required to ignite diesel and theresulting absence of spark plugs or sparking wires reduces the needfor maintenance. In addition, taking an 1800 rpm water cooled dieselunit as an example, this can be expected to run for up to 30,000 hoursbefore major maintenance is needed, compared to up to 10,000 hoursfor an equivalent petrol engine.

A future of electrification remains a future for diesel The global demand for energy is set to grow some 60 per cent by 2030according to the IEA, and while more than a billion people indeveloping nations now have access to fuels such as coal, kerosene,liquefied petroleum and natural gas, more than two billion peopleremain without electricity, worldwide. Ironically, the number of peoplewithout access to modern energy services is increasing by around30mn each year and a recent IEA estimate states that 56 per cent of

The importance of diesel generators in rural electrification

strategies cannot be under stated” The International Energy Agency


people living in rural locations in thedeveloping world have no access to modernenergy supplies, with wood, charcoal and, insome of Africa’s less developed regions, cropresidues and dungas fuels, delivering over 70per cent of their main fuel source for basicactivities such as cooking and heating.

It is commonly held that such basicsources of energy are responsible for bothpoor air quality, as well as creating fire andburn-injury hazard. And amongst the mostsignificant considerations is that, betweennow and 2040, the IEA projects that overUS$16 trillion will be invested in theprovision of energy in the developing world,and yet, at the end of that period, it stillexpects nearly 1.5bn people – takingpopulation growth into account – will bewithout electricity in a world where thedemand for energy is just going to keep onrising.

With such stats it is not surprising that therole for stand-alone solutions, such as dieselgenerators, are, and will remain, themainstay for power supply for many remotecommunities in developing regions for theforeseeable future. ■

Tim Guest

GeneratorsPOWER


Africa relies on diesel generators and inthe words of a Business Monitor

International (BMI) ICT Researchspokesperson talking with African Review:‘Every single business in Nigeria, whethersmall, medium or very big, has, as part of itsinventory for power supply, a generator -every single business. And while this andother country-specific points mentionedrelate to Nigeria, a similar scenario exists inmost Sub-Saharan African countries,although to a lesser extent in South Africa.’. BMI gave African Review a quick run-downof the use of diesel generators in theNigerian telecoms sector and the bulletsbelow make for very interesting reading: · Nigeria currently has approximately20,000 telecoms base stations, all of whichhave at least one standby generator. · Some base stations are not connected togrid electricity or are located in areas withpoor electricity supply, thereby requiring atleast two generators for full operation.

· Nigeria requires up to 70,000 base stationsfor optimal mobile network coverage.Therefore, if the electricity situation is notimproved more generators will be required.· It is estimated that telecoms operators willspend around NGN46bn (US$252mn) infuelling generators in 2012.· MTN currently spends NGN500mnmonthly on energy to run its base stations.In an attempt to cut costs, the company,which has 44.3 per cent of the market, isinvesting in methane driven tri-generationplants. · Airtel is investing in hybrid plants.· Other operators and tower sharing firmsare investing in various types of hybrid orrenewable energy sources.Although the points above relate toNigeria, according to an ICT Researchspokesperson for Business MonitorInternational, a similar scenario exists inmost Sub-Saharan African countries,although to a lesser extent in South Africa.

The importance of diesel in telecoms growth in Africa –A Nigerian Snapshot



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A busy time for Aggreko in Africa - Aggreko claims to be thelargest specialist temporary power generation company in theworld, and offers services in Africa from offices in Nigeria, SouthAfrica and the UAE. French speaking African countries areserviced from the company’s office in France. In August, thecompany opened a new service centre in Walvis Bay, Namibia,which was inaugurated by Honorable Willem Isaak, DeputyMinister of Mines of Namibia andMartin Foster, Head of Local Business,Aggreko Southern and East Africa.Cleophas Mutjavikua, the governor ofthe Erongo region, was also inattendance. The facility is the sixthservice centre in Aggreko’s Southernand East African network and is thefirst operation to be based in Namibia.The new depot will service thecountry’s rapidly growing miningindustry and other industrial usersthroughout the country. Located nextto the Port of Walvis Bay, the facility isstrategically positioned to supportNamibia’s shipping and fishingindustries.Earlier this year it opened its newservice centre in Nairobi. The newfacility was formally inaugurated by theHon. Kiraitu Murungi, Minister ofEnergy, Republic of Kenya and Aggreko

CEO Rupert Soames. The Nairobi facility is the sixth servicecentre in Aggreko’s Southern and East African network and is thefirst operation to be based in East Africa. Situated within thegrounds of Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, thefacility is strategically located to support industrial users in andaround Nairobi as well as shipping, mining and manufacturingand agricultural businesses operating throughout the country.


GeneratorsPOWER


Over three days, from 23-25 October 2012 at theGallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, in

South Africa , global players in the power sector willconverge for a showcase designed to bring togetherinternational suppliers of products and servicesenvisaged to assist the Southern Africa region todevelop its power utilities sector - in an effort tofacilitate and address the challenging issues ofmeeting demand, energy efficiency, distribution,transmission, generation, security of supply and costefficiency.

Brought to the continent by the organisers of thesuccessful Middle East Electricity, Africa Electricity is aone-stop-shop for networking, conducting businessand learning under the ambit of a comprehensiveshowcase for the power, lighting, renewable, nuclearand water sectors.

“Power and energy are crucial for the sustenance ofthe continent, and with current challenges in thesector, it is imperative that stakeholders come togetherin an effort to alleviate current and future challenges. AfricaElectricity delivers a cost-effective sales and marketing platformand is an ideal way of bringing together buyer, seller, and product,”says Anita Mathews, Exhibition Director.

A meeting place for industry stakeholdersA key feature of the showcase is The BIG Debate, a meeting place

for industry stakeholders to discuss matters of key importance. The2012 edition of the debate will feature several highly esteemedprofessionals and academics who will discuss, debate anddeliberate with the audience on the key issues surrounding SouthAfrica and the rest of the continent’s current energy status.Confirmed speakers include: ● Hasha Tlhotlhalemaje, General Manager of Regulation at Eskom.● Calib Cassim, General Manager of Financial Planning & Economic

Regulation at Eskom.● Deon Joubert, Corporate Specialist of Finance Planning &

Regulation at Eskom.● Ronald Chauke, Head of Regulatory Reform at NERSA.● Rod Crompton, Regulator, NERSA.● Johan van den Berg, Chief Executive Officer, South Africa Wind

Energy Association (SAWEA).● Piet van Staden, SC Strategic Sourcing at SASOL.

The discussions at Africa Electricity, amongst those speaking at theevent as well as those and attending, include: ● South Africa’s Future in Nuclear.● The Gas Scenario in South Africa.● Legislative Landscape of Energy Sector.● Right Price Path for South Africa’s Economy and Renewable

Energy.

The exhibition will feature over 100 companies from more than 22countries, and is expected to attract visitors from over 34 countriesworldwide. And they all come for one reason: Africa Electricity isthe comprehensive showcase to attend - for the power, lighting,renewable, nuclear and water sectors in South Africa.

For exhibiting enquires please contact the team on: Tel: +971 4 336 5161E-mail: [email protected]

If you wish to visit the show, you can register for free, with fast-trackentry at www.africaelectricity.com/register

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GeneratorsPOWER


MAN Diesel & Turbo’s medium-speed division in Holeby, Denmarkhas clinched a contract, as part of a consortium featuring the

Portuguese contractor WinEnergy and Brazil-owned companyZagope, with ENE – the Angola national Electricity Utility – for theprovision of 49 MAN GenSets. The engines are bound for a series ofpower projects around the vast, African country. The first delivery isbased on initial stock from Frederikshavn, Denmark. The contractrepresents the largest such deal ever for MAN Diesel & Turbo’s HolebyPower division.

The tender in Angola was based on a power container solutioncovering a total of 14 locations. In connection with the drafting of this,MAN Diesel & Turbo worked closely with WinEnergy, a Portugueseengineering company whose core business is based on solutionsdevelopment and the commercialisation of turnkey equipment andsystems in the areas of energy and environment.

In a previous project with WinEnergy, the Holeby Power teamimplemented a smaller GenSet power solution in Cape Verde. Thesuccess of the Cape Verde project was the impetus for WinEnergy toresearch new tenders in other, former Portuguese colonies in Africa,including Angola. Ultimately, at the end of 2011, WinEnergy signedterms with the Angolan authorities for seven power plants.

In the Angolan project, Winenergy and Zagope – the other memberof the consortium and an infrastructure specialist – are responsible forthe turnkey plant whereas Holeby is responsible for projectmanagement, covering the production and design of the GenSets andintroducing them to operation at the various, Angolan locations.

The first batch of engines is bound for Cunene, in the south of the

country. Their deployment is also of value in that it will help establishthe robustness of Angola’s electrical infrastructure.

The project also offers new opportunities for MAN PrimeServ, MANDiesel & Turbo’s after-sales division, which already has a presencelocally servicing several offshore customers in Angola’s boominghydrocarbon sector.

Angolan roll-out of MAN gensets

At the 2012 SMM Hamburg exhibition inGermany, customers and potentialcustomers had their first chance to see anew range of robust AvK generators underdevelopment by Cummins GeneratorTechnologies. The new range, scheduled foravailability in 2013, is being speciallydesigned for marine and harsh environmentapplications. Market leading weight, sizeand efficiency ratings will establish theproduct as a leader within its field. To meet the challenges of marine and harshenvironments, the new range features a lowvoltage 4-pole robust, bar wound design,and will be compliant with marine industryclassifications. The new units are predictedto provide an estimated power range of1500 kVA to 3400 kVA at 50 Hz and 1800 kVA to 4100 kVA at 60 Hz and voltages between 400 V and690 V with insulation class H as standard. A unique modular design construction and a range ofoptions will allow flexibility to suit typical marine and harsh environment applications, including anair to water cooler, rolling element or sleeve bearing options and Ingress Protection ratings SOLASIP23 and IP54.Further variations of the new range are yet to be introduced. Prime Power, Grid Code Compliantand Oil & Gas versions, including medium and high voltage, are all under development.

Caterpillar Inc. recently introduced a newseries of generator sets. The CG productline - consisting of the CG132, CG170 andCG260 - features electrical outputs rangingfrom 400 to 4,300 kWe. Available in both50 Hz- and 60 Hz-rated models, CGgenerator sets are designed for maximumefficiency in extended-duty distributedgeneration and cogeneration (combinedheat-and-power) applications.This addition to the portfolio of Cat gasgenerator sets expands the range ofoptions available to customers. Built forflexibility, CG generator sets can operateon gases of varying quality, includingnatural gas;biogases such aslandfill, digesterand sewage gas;coke gas; and coalmine methane, andcan be used in avariety ofapplications.

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Given the instability of electricity inAfrica, the UPS has become a vitalpiece of technological equipment in

Africa. Not only is it essential for protectingexpensive computer equipment fromfluctuations in power, it is also necessaryacross industries such as manufacturing,factories and warehousing, where equipmentneeds to be powered by a steady and constantelectricity supply. However, given the diversityof the applications to which a UPS can beapplied, it makes sense that there are differenttypes of devices applicable in differentscenarios.

Transformer-based and transformerlessUPSs might perform a similar function on thesurface, but they have very differentapplications, and using the wrong device inthe wrong scenario can cause major businessissues.

With transformers, and withoutThe difference between a transformer-basedand a transformerless UPS is exactly what thenames suggest. One type of UPS uses atransformer, and the other type does not. Thepresence of a transformer means that the UPSphysically isolates the mains voltage from theload through a series of copper windings. Atransformerless UPS will try and perform thesame function electronically. This basicallytranslates to the fact that a transformer-basedUPS is more robust and rugged, while a

transformerless device typically exhibitsslightly higher efficiencies, meaning that eachis suited to different applications andenvironments.

Transformer-based UPS devices use copperwindings, a proven, stable technology that hasnot changed in many decades because thereis no need to change it for certainenvironments. These devices are more suitableto dirty power environments, applicationssuch as mining, manufacturing and heavyindustry, and areas where power is highlyunstable. For example, many factories andwarehouses need to charge huge devices likeforklifts. Plugging these devices into the mainswill cause massive fluctuations in power,which the UPS then needs to be able tostabilise.

Transformerless UPS devices on the otherhand have been designed specifically for theIT environment, and are more suited to datacentre and server environments. These devicesare not as robust, having been designed to sitinside server rooms, but are easier to manage,and incorporate intelligence and reportingcapabilities and the ability to alert people viaemail or SMS should the power go down,amongst other features. This makes thetransformerless UPS ideal in computer andserver environments.

Despite these differences, however, manyorganisations apply the wrong type of UPS ina given scenario. While transformer-based UPSdevices can handle greater power fluctuations,they are not suited to highly sensitive datafluctuations. Even in areas where power ishighly unstable or prone to outages, atransformerless UPS is more applicable, andmay require the addition of a voltage stabiliserto ensure it keeps running. If, on the otherhand, users try to apply a transformerless UPS

in manufacturing, or in rural areas, thesedevices will inevitably fail as they areincapable of handling the voltage fluctuations.

While transformer-based UPS devices useold technology, and transformerless UPSs arethe result of newer technology, miniaturisedequipment and modern business needs, thedifference does not even come down topricing. Depending on the manufacturer andthe vendor, the price of each different type ofdevice can vary widely. Ultimately, choosingthe right type of UPS boils down to knowingyour environment and knowing what youneed.

Transformer-based UPSs are the utilityvehicle of the UPS industry, andtransformerless ones are like a fancy, low-slung sports car. You would not take yoursports car off-road into the field, and youwould not park your dirty, mud-splattered,hard-wearing utility outside a fancy Frenchrestaurant on a date. Each type of UPS has itsown use, and organisations need tounderstand these uses so that theirexpectations of features, functionality anddurability are in line with what can bedelivered. ■

Robert Brand, UPS & infrastructure productspecialist at Drive Control Corporation

UPSPOWER

64

Scenarios andapplicationsUnderstanding transformer-based andtransformerless UPS usage: what is thedifference, why does it matter and whathappens if you use the wrong one?

Choosing the right UPS boils down to knowing yourenvironment and knowing what you need (Photo: Seeweb)


The UPS hasbecome a vital piece

of technologicalequipment in Africa”

Many organisations apply the wrong type

of UPS in a given scenario”


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Test & MeasurementPOWER


It goes without saying that any component,pipe, tube, pressure vessel or structuresupplied for operation in power generation

should be fit-for-purpose. Base materials aresubject to rigorous quality control but one of themajor areas of in-production inspection is weldinspection. Welding is a joining process that isused for components from boiler tubes to windturbine towers and they all offer differentinspection challenges.

Radiography has long been the inspectiontechnology of choice in the manufacture ofpipes, tubes and components for the powergeneration sector, mainly because all standardsand inspection procedures were originallywritten specifying radiography. However,radiography has a few limitations andrestrictions such as such as extended filmprocessing times, radiation screening and wastechemicals disposal. Radiation screening is alsoessential and this can involve screening on line

or even moving the item to be inspected to adedicated screened area.

However, the technology of ultrasonics hasmade significant advances over recent yearswith the development of techniques such asTime of Flight Diffraction (TOFD) and phasedarray. As a result, ultrasonic procedures are nowspecified for volumetric weld inspection and canbe applied with total confidence. Unfortunately,ultrasonic inspection data is generally not astransparent as radiographic data. Mostradiographs, whether they be wet film or digitalcan be readily understood even by non-specialist personnel. Ultrasonic data needs to bereviewed and analysed by a suitably qualifiedtechnician. Consequently this can cause staffing,availability and cost problems in labour intensiveinspections where a number of inspectors needto be deployed. Moreover, the problems aremagnified because of a growing shortage ofsuitably qualified ultrasonics inspectors.

Non-destructive testing

Radiography is the inspectiontechnology of choice in the

manufacture of pipes, tubes andcomponents for the power generation sector


An elegant solution Fortunately, recent developments haveprovided an elegant solution to the problemsfaced in the application of ultrasonicinspection. The USM Vision is an innovative,ultrasonic (UT) weld inspection system, fromGE’s Inspection Technologies business, whoseintuitive, 100% guided operation allows lowerlevel UT technicians to gather reliable andaccurate pipe weld inspection data, forsubsequent remote assessment by a suitablyqualified ultrasonics expert. This permitsultrasonic inspection to be used in situationsconventionally requiring radiography,removing the constraints associated withradiography. As a result, it facilitates themigration of skills from radiography to UT,reducing the possibility of bottlenecks,providing significant increases in productivityand improving operational health and safety, aswell as making best use of the expertise of thelimited numbers of qualified ultrasonicsinspection personnel.

Traceability is an important parameterallowed by the new technology. This isimportant in in-service inspection as well as inmanufacture. The new technology is alsoapplicable to the wide range of componentsmanufactured.

In-service inspectionIn-service inspection is vitally important toensure operating efficiency and extend servicelife. Some inspection is carried out at regular setintervals, but most inspection takes placeduring planned outages. A wide variety ofinspection equipment can be deployed, fromeddy current to check for boiler tube crackingand remote visual inspection to view the resultsof corrosion. However, the most versatiletechnology is ultrasonics.

Manual ultrasonic inspectionManual ultrasonic inspection is extensively usedthroughout balance of plant. Unlikeradiography, manual ultrasonic inspectionneeds access from just one side and, in nuclearplants, it is unaffected by background radiation.Portable equipment such as the Phasor XS hasbeen used to size inter granular stress-corrosioncracking (IGSCC) in Boiling Water Reactors(BWRs) in nuclear plants as well as to inspectcomplex geometry feedwater nozzles in BWRs.

The Phasor XS has also successfully passed anEPRI Performance Demonstration Initiative whichaims to validate test methods, NDT equipmentand NDT technicians to specific tasks within aplant. This initiative is yet another attempt toanswer the current and growing skills shortage.

The Phasor has been shown to improveProbability of Detection (POD) reduce operatortraining times and reduce inspection times.

It has been shown that ultrasonic inspectionusing USM vision can save up to week whencompared with conventional radiography. Thisoffers the asset owner significant advantages. Ifthe outage period is fixed, he can inspect moretubes and, in fact, asset owners are continuouslyincreasing the number of tubes they requireinspecting during shut-downs. He can inspectthe same number of tubes but free up hisinspection team to carry out other inspectiontasks. Or, alternatively, he can reduce the lengthof the outage and gain more plant up-time.

ConclusionsInspection is a necessary activity in the powergenerating sector, whether that inspection is inmanufacture or in-service. Inspection alwaysneeds to be accurate, reliable and efficient. Itshould also be traceable and code-compliant.As we continue to struggle with the problem ofreducing numbers of skilled inspectors, it iseven more vital that our inspection technologygets smarter and even more versatile. ■

Lionel Delannoy, Power Generation Sector Leader,GE Measurement & Control

POWERTest & Measurement


Conference & Exhibition6 - 8 November 2012

Sandton Convention CentreJohannesburg, Republic of South Africa

www.powergenafrica.com

Owned and Produced by: Co-located with:Presented by:

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY FOR LOCAL SOLUTIONSPOWER-GEN Africa is the new premier conference and exhibition dedicated to the power needs, resources and issues facing the electricity generation industries across sub-Saharan Africa.

LEARN AND DISCOVER MORE ABOUT AFRICA’S POWER INDUSTRY

Joint Opening Keynote Session – Tuesday 6th November 2012 – 9:30am

LEADING INDUSTRY EXHIBITION

Discover new technologies and developments at sub-Saharan Africa’s exciting new exhibition for the power and renewable energy industries and source the latest products and services from leading companies and suppliers from around the world. For full details and to register online visit: www.powergenafrica.com

Follow us on:

Ms. Elizabeth Dipuo PetersMinister of Energy, Republic of South Africa

Mr. Brian DamesChief Executive Officer, Eskom, Republic of South Africa



Campaigns encouraging consumers to‘switch off and unplug’ or face theconsequences of load shedding this

winter often overlook how much SouthAfrica’s ageing and poorly maintainedelectricity supply network is contributing topower loss.

While the amount of energy lost to poorconnections and power spikes on overheadcables and other transmissioninfrastructure is currently unknown, usinginfrared technology to identify and preventelectricity loss could contributesignificantly to the amount of electricityavailable for consumption.

“We will never know how much is beinglost, be able to locate major loss areas or learnhow to prevent this loss until we subject allsub stations and switchgear to infraredinspection” says Wernher Le Hanie, aThermographer at Marsh Africa.

Identifying issues with infrared technologyInfrared thermography allows humans tovisualise and understand what a thermalcamera sees – with a spike in temperatureindicating an abnormality in the flow ofelectricity.

Le Hanie and his team have used infraredcameras to identify areas of resistance, andhence energy loss, on property circuits andoverhead rail cables.

“While using thermographic surveys toinvestigate electricity loss for thesecommercial customers it became evidentthat municipal grids were also losingsignificant amounts of power from theirnetwork of faulty connections and points of

resistance - even before any breakdownsoccurred,” says Le Hanie.

Without doubt, South Africa’s ageing cityelectricity supply networks require infraredinspection. Major cities, like Johannesburg,have by far the greatest concentration ofcables, connection and transmission points -all areas of potential resistance and loss.

And just because there is not a breakdown,doesn’t mean there isn’t loss.

“Our experience with infraredtechnology show us that cities, with theirmultiple opportunities for electricalresistance, are the most likely areas ofpower loss – often accounting for monthsand years of increased resistance and lostpower before a breakdown occurs,” says LeHanie. As such, even when a city’selectricity supply network appears to beoperating smoothly vast amounts ofpower are being lost and wasted.

With infrared thermography camerasnow in South Africa and currently in use inthe electrical, mechanical, building,veterinary, medical, security and transportindustries, “it is a pity that South Africa’smajor cities are not applying thistechnology more effectively to theirelectricity supply grids” says Le Haine.

Moreover, those few municipalities thatare using thermography to combat powerloss and other breakdowns often use itincorrectly. For example, switchgear panelsare often not equipped with infraredwindows. Nor are they left open due tosafety concerns. This results inthermographic scans only reflecting surfaceissues - missing weak connections and

other faults deeper within the panel,”explains Le Hanie.

Comparing cases and costsOn top of unnecessary power loss, which LeHanie believes will prove to be vast oncemeasured and calculated, the risk of notdoing regular thermographic scans onSouth Africa’s electricity grid, especially inits major cities, includes escalation indeterioration of equipment and eventuallytotal breakdown.

Compared with maintaining it, it alwayscosts more to replace or rebuild equipmentThe cost of shutdown for repairs should alsobe considered along with the cost of damageto the network.

“If you include the cost of lostproductivity and stock trade etc. thecumulative cost of South Africa’s ageingand poorly maintained municipal electricitygrids to the overall economy becomesignificant,” argues Le Haine.

The worst case is when electricalequipment catches fire due to a looseconnection resulting in the entire systemburning down – even though this couldhave been avoided by preventativeinfrared scanning.

Beyond these spectacular and veryvisible consequences of a poorlymaintained municipal electricity supplynetwork, given that most of the power lostin South Africa is unseen and unmeasured“there is a dire need to start applyingmodern predictive infrared risk assessmentto our electricity grid, especially in ourmajor cities,” according to le Hanie. ■

POWER Infrastructure

Investing an infrared futureHow infrared technology could be deployed to cut energy consumption inSouth Africa


POWERElectricity


Given the increasing cost of electricity,and to some degree an enhancedawareness of eco-consciousness and

the damaging effects of fossil fuels on theenvironment, energy efficiency is becoming apoint of importance for many businesses.With increased pressure from stakeholders totake steps to improve energy efficiencycoupled with rising electricity costs, reducingenergy consumption has become an issue ofimportance on the business agenda.Common areas of energy consumption acrossbusinesses include heating, ventilation andcooling, or HVAC, which often makes uparound 50 per cent of energy consumption,lighting at around 20 per cent, generalcomputer equipment about 20 per cent andother equipment approximately 10 per cent.

However, a common practice for manyorganisations is to adopt a fragmentedapproach when managing energy

consumption, often with individual servicesuppliers addressing individual components.An alternative way to address energy usage is totake a holistic approach that offers aconsolidated view of the building’s energyusage and provides an overall solution toenergy management and efficiency. Thisholistic view will give an overall assessment onenergy consumption, including areas such asboilers, geysers, HVAC and lighting as well asthe building management system which shouldeffectively control many of these functions.

Auditing energyAn energy audit conducted by a serviceprovider with expertise and relevantexperience will deliver an overall picture of theentire building, what equipment is using howmuch energy and where, which will in turnhighlight areas for improvement. This energyaudit should take on a two-tier format, with a

preliminary audit focusing on measuring theentire building which will identify areas forimprovement, which can then be drilled downinto a detailed major audit on specific areasshould this be necessary.

The results of the preliminary audit anablesbusinesses to highlight interventions offeringa quick return on investment to boostorganisational buy-in, and identify areas fordevelopment that require longer-termrepayment. Power factor corrections,occupancy sensor controls, HVACoptimisation, some lighting environmentsand upgrading HVAC equipment to newer,more efficient models can be addressed forquick wins, as they offer return on investmentof less than five years and can improve theenergy efficiency of a building. ■

Karl van Eck, Regional General Manager: AfricaJohnson Controls Global Energy Solutions

Smart management


PowerEQUIPMENT

Konecranes has introduced a Hybrid (diesel/electric) poweroption for its Rubber Tired Gantry cranes (RTGs), which can

reduce diesel fuel consumption by over 60 %. With the addition ofthis new power option, Konecranes now provides a full range ofsolutions for RTGs: Hybrid Power Pack, Diesel Fuel Saver, and twoelectric power options, the Cable Reel and Busbar.Customers can thus choose either a diesel or electric solution,depending on their business requirements. The Hybrid PowerPack and Diesel Fuel Saver provide the flexibility of diesel power,while the two electric options provide the benefits andconvenience of electricity – no diesel, less maintenance, less noiseand lower emissions.

Complete range, full powerThe Konecranes Hybrid Power Pack turns a fully-diesel RTG into adiesel/electric hybrid RTG. Whenever possible, the crane isoperated with electrical power drawn from the energy store. Like

a hybrid car, it takes the energy generated during braking andconverts it into electricity to recharge the batteries. Dependingon usage, this solution can significantly reduce diesel fuel costs.Put another way, the RTG can operate much longer on a tank offuel. The Diesel Fuel Saver provides power-on-demand, matching theRPMs of the RTG engine to the work the machine is doing. Itensures that the diesel engine is running at maximum efficiencyat all operating points, without high-speed idling. Compared withconventional diesel engine operation, the Diesel Fuel Saver canconsiderably reduce fuel consumption, resulting in cost savings oftens of thousands of euros per RTG per year in typical operation. The Cable Reel and Busbar options convert the RTG to fully-electric operation, eliminating diesel exhaust emissions andensuring quiet RTG operation. The latter is an importantconsideration when the container terminal is located near aresidential area. There is no downtime for refueling, so the RTGcan spend more time in productive operation. The time saved bynot refueling can amount to up to one working week per year.

Full serviceKonecranes not only provides a full range of power options, italso provides a full range of services for RTGs, includingmaintenance and retrofits. When Konecranes modernizes an RTGwith a power option retrofit, the company makes sure that thepower system is fully integrated with the mechanical andelectrical systems. This ensures that the RTG continues to workreliably and efficiently.

www.HATZ-DIESEL.com

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Hybrid Power Pack completes Konecranes’ range for RTGs

The Konecranes Hybrid PowerPack turns a fully-diesel RTG into

a diesel/electric hybrid RTG


CONSTRUCTIONContracting

ReconstructingLibyan societyWith a massive construction and infrastructurerequirement, contractors need to be positionedto grasp the opportunities

T he international contracting communityis keenly aware of the opportunities which Libya represents. With a new

government and fundamental economicreform taking shape over the next year,coupled with a massive construction andinfrastructure requirement, contractors willneed to be well positioned to grasp theopportunities that will eventually materialise.That means starting the process now.

How will the political arrangements playout? What will be the new commercial/legallandscape? What are some of the projectprospects? What are some of the legal issuesto be aware of when considering projectopportunities? How will the security situationalter? This article will look briefly at thesequestions and provide some guidance tointernational contractors that are interestedin being part of the new Libya.

Politics and administrationThe National Transitional Council (NTC)currently carries out the function of Libya’scaretaker government. The NTC wasestablished by constitutional declaration (theDeclaration) in August 2011 and will remainthe interim authority in Libya until theelection of a 200-member National GeneralCouncil.

Once the National General Council iselected, a new constitution will be draftedand put to referendum towards the end of2012. The new constitution will build uponthe spirit of the Declaration. A key objectiveof the Declaration is to diversify the economy,which has for a long time been almostentirely dependent on oil revenue. Anotherobjective is promoting the private sector,including the introduction of transparentprocesses for privatisation.Time will tell howwell these objectives are met.

Any major legislative and regulatoryreforms will not occur immediately. The newcentral government has many priorities inwhat is a complex web of semi-autonomousregions seeking federalism, factions anddiverse tribal and ethnic groups. The realitywill involve the establishment from scratch ofa parliament, the government and itsministries, not to mention the associatedcommittees and bodies that are a necessarypart of the machinery of government.Evidence from other regions suggests that itwill be a slow process with mistakes along theway.

A new government will bring with it a freshroadmap for reform. There is much to dobefore there is any structure around how thegovernment intends to allocate the vastconstruction and infrastructure budgets at itsdisposal, and how it will tender andultimately engage foreign contractors. Forthis reason we are cautious about short termsprospects, it is unlikely that there will be anymajor project for at least the next year or two.Construction and Infrastructure Projects

Before the Arab Spring and the upheavalthere, Libya had advertised to the world thatit would be spending US $500bn on projectsby 2020, including US $15bn on infrastructureprojects by 2013. There is no reason to believethe scope of intended investment will bediminished. The time frames will simply bemoved.However the new government mayalso look at what had been prioritisedpreviously and it is likely that some reordering of what is considered critical willoccur.

Virtually all sectors of Libya’s economyrequire massive investment andimprovement. Some of the obvious sectorsare airports, ports, railways, roads, housing,healthcare and the revitalisation of power

S14 ATR Oct 2012 Construction 1_Layout 1 20/09/2012 17:47 Page 71

ContractingCONSTRUCTION

72

and water facilities. Although the Great Man-Made River Project represents a greatachievement in Libya for supplying water tosome parts of Libya, there remain huge watershortage issues, let alone wastewater systemsthat are urgently needed. Add to this theproject market associated with a major pushfor a tourism sector and we are looking at avery significant project market for many yearsto come.

Healthcare is close to the top of the list, as itis in many Arab countries. The NTC has beenstudying public private partnership models,with a view to procuring the delivery of atleast seven new hospitals using a PPP model.The NTC has also earmarked therefurbishment of many hospitals as aprerogative once the new government is inplace. Despite the wealth generated byLibya’s oil reserves, there are strong signs thatthe new Libya will favour the procurement ofmany healthcare projects off balance sheet,utilising the expertise of expert consortia.This will present big opportunities for foreigncontractors. It is not yet clear whether PPPmodels are being considered for othersectors, but it is certainly likely, given thatsuch models continue to be closelyconsidered by Libya’s neighbours and GCCcountries across a range of projects.

The World Bank announced in September2011 that it would be helping the NTC planand tender for contracts for reconstruction.The anecdotal evidence is that to date notmuch has been done in this regard. A waitand see approach until the new governmenttakes over is now more likely. There areobvious constraints on the NTC’s legitimateauthority to award contracts. So far, outsidethe oil and gas sector at least, only localcontractors have been actively repairing andrebuilding.

Foreign involvement is a medium- to long-term proposition. In the short term, the focuswill be on establishing the level of publicgovernance required to enable the scale ofinvestment that is planned.

Legal issuesA foreign contractor must establish a localentity to work in Libya. This should be lookedat now, as there is a huge administrativebacklog and red tape to navigate. It ispossible to set up a branch office of a foreigncompany in Libya without involving a Libyanpartner. However, there is considerablecomplexity in any set-up and experiencedadvisers need to play a very active role. It isunclear if these processes will change withthe new government.

The legal system in Libya is based upon aCivil Code and Islamic Law (the Shari’a). TheCivil Code is based upon the Egyptian Civil

Code and is broadly similar in content andeffect to other Civil Codes in the GCC, such asthe UAE Civil Code. Many foreign contractorswill be familiar with certain aspects of theapplication of Civil Code concepts in thecontext of undertaking projects in the GCC.For example, good faith, decennial liabilityand Article 249 (“change of circumstances”)are principles well known to contractorsdoing business in the UAE. Expect the sameprinciples to apply in Libya.

The Shari‘a may be reasserted in Libya’snew legal landscape. The leader of the NTChas been vocal about the fact that the Shari‘awill be the primary source of law in thereformation of Libya and that any lawscontradicting the Shari‘a will be void. Anexample of such a system is in Saudi Arabia.We would not be surprised, however, to seethe status quo maintained of a Code-basedsystem alongside the Shari‘a.

So what are some of the key things a partyneeds to be aware of when entering into acontract in Libya?

Where a contract is entered into with apublic sector entity, such contract will besubject to the Administrative ContractsRegulation no. 563 of 2007 (the Regulation).There are tender rules and other special rulesfor state contracts. The Regulation providesthat all disputes under such contracts mustbe referred to the Libyan courts. A submissionto arbitration requires the approval of theGeneral People’s Committee. It is expectedthat these rules will be in place for some time.

The language of a contract should be inEnglish so that the storm of correspondencegenerated by a construction project can bequickly understood. If the language of thecontract is stated to be Arabic, a contractorwill need a very good translator, who willbecome a critical adviser. Translating Arabinto English has many traps for theuninitiated.

Force majeure provisions will obviously beimportant. The Regulation and the LibyanCivil Code both deal with force majeure, andthese provisions may form part of a wider

interpretation of an FM provision expressedin a contract. The Civil Code imposes differentstandards from the common law in thecontext of the principles of a bargainbetween parties. A bargain may not alwaysbe a bargain.

It may be difficult to negotiate around therequirement for submission of disputes to thelocal courts where contracting with thepublic sector. Where contracting with aprivate party, it would be preferable for thecontract to provide for an agreement toarbitrate, with the place of such arbitrationbeing an internationally recognised location,such as London, Paris or Geneva. Libya is notsubject to the New York Convention, whichmeans that all foreign arbitration awardssought to be enforced in Libya have to beapproved by the Courts in Libya. Assumeappeals, appeals and more appeals.

Our long experience in the Middle East andNorth Africa means that we are well placed toassist in unravelling the problems withexisting contracts. That is certainly theproblem currently facing many foreigncontractors in Libya. In virtually all cases,getting things right at the start can avoidmany problems later on. This will beparticularly important going into the newLibya.

ConclusionForeign contractors need to form strongrelationships in Libya. They need to be doingthis now. As is true with many other parts ofthe Arab world, forging strong relationshipswith local contacts is of paramountimportance. Those contractors that showcommitment and a genuine interest in thefuture of Libya will be “front and centre” whenthe tenders and contracts eventually startcoming. Trust will be key. Especially in asociety as small as Libya. Establishing suchtrust in a fractured Libya will take time, butoffers huge rewards for the committed.

Libya’s oil wealth underpins the relativeoptimism for the future growth inconstruction and infrastructure. While in timethere will be many opportunities, foreigncontractors will need to have an establishedpresence in the local market and be alive tothe risks and traps for the unwary of not onlya system of law that relies predominantly oncivil law concepts and the Shari‘a, but also afluid, evolving commercial environment in anArab nation that is in the primary phase ofundoing 40 years of dictatorship.Thechallenges are immense. So are the possiblerewards. ■

David Risbridger, a partner and head of theconstruction and dispute resolution group atSNR Denton in Dubai

Strong relationships with local Libyan

contacts is of paramountimportance - as thoseshowing commitment

and interest will gain thebest business”




Tomas Kuta, President of EMEA sales atVolvo Construction Equipment (VolvoCE), spoke recently of the company's

renewed focus on sales in European,Middle Eastern and African markets - andof its commitment to innovation in design,to make its equipment increasinglypurposeful and cost-effective.

At the heart of Volvo CE's new wavecommitment to innovation is thecompany's adherence to core values – anadherence to the aspiration of quality,safety and environmental care – whichVolvo CE regards as fundamental driversfor its operations and operationaldevelopment, underpinning an open andfuture-oriented approach to businessrelationships, as well as productdevelopment.

What Volvo CE's core values deliver to African and Middle Eastern marketsMaking and delivering products that workwell means a lot, but being a responsiblecorporate citizen requires more than that.

Volvo Construction Equipment’s approachto market involves creating a symbioticrelationship between quality, safety andenvironmental care - ensuring the qualityof its products, the efficiency of itsfactories, and the standards it sets by itspartners and services.

As Mr Kuta spoke, it was clear thatquality matters most; not only in its ownright, but also in underpinning thepromotion of safety and environmentalissues. Volvo CE's core values applythrough the quality of equipment suppliedto support construction projects in Africanmarkets. This new drive - evidenced in thedevelopment of the company's drivetrain,hydraulics and lifting systems, forexample, and in its introduction of a dieselparticulate filter - is also in keeping withthe company's heritage of 180 years ofoperation. Tomas Kuta affirmed thecontinuing stress on a heritage ofcommitment to quality when he said, "Wealways have tried to stay ahead of thecompetition."

A principal reason for Volvo CE's recentrestructuring of its sales and distributionnetworks is to engage better with itscustomers and potential buyers. Proximityis a keyword at the company. This isreflected already in a good salesmomentum for Q1 2012, with goodoperating figures recorded for the quarter.

Tomas Kuta firmly believes thatcontinued success for Volvo CE rests alsowith superior engagement with markets.He said, "The differentiator will bedistribution."

Looking at the supply chain, Tomas Kutaalso highlighted attachments, andintroduced a new attachments system inprospect from Volvo CE - borne of aSEK100mn (US$14.5mn) investment, andset to be fully realised, globally, by 2015.Alongside telematics, customer supportagreements and many other areas, TomasKuta said that this area would bring VolvoCE closer to markets and to customers, byresponding better to demand, bydelivering tailor-made solutions. ■

EquipmentCONSTRUCTION

74

How to differentiate inequipment marketsCore values at corporate level define and support Volvo CE’s efforts toachieve closer market engagement in Africa and the Middle East

Volvo CE is pushing afresh toachieve closer commitment to

innovation and greater sales



A cab with a view.

www.bomag.com

3212

04/1

2

With easy handling and advanced technology comes high productivity and optimum mixing. This cab

offers unique visibility and operator comfort. No surprise, as the driver is ideally positioned at the centre

of the machine. Another MPH 125 design feature is the unit’s ease of transport: the driver’s station is

height adjustable. This minimises the need for special permits or low-load trailers.

That’s Bomag – an eye for the bigger picture.

MPH 125: A new perspective on stabilisation and recycling.


Concor Civils, a Murray & Roberts Construction company, hasharnessed several conventional construction technologies in aunique combination to execute a highly successful “design and

construct” road-under-rail underpass project in Newclare,Johannesburg, as part of the Johannesburg Development Agency’sRea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.

Throughout this 18-month project, the Newclare to Westbury railtraffic remained operational at all times and it is one of very fewstructures of this size to be jacked into an operational railway lineembankment without interruption to the railway traffic.

The BRT route identified through Coronationville and Newclareabsorbs some of the roadway capacity in this busy area and necessitatedadditional rail crossing points. The new road-under-rail crossing linksPrice and Hoy Streets which runs parallel to the railway at the Newclarerailway station, effectively easing future traffic flows in this area.

The project involved the construction of two reinforced concretestructures, one on either side of the railway embankment. The twostructures were jacked through the embankment until they

overlapped on the centre line of the railway to form the underpassstructure. The 52.5 metre long underpass is 12 metres wide, allowingfor two road lanes of 3.7 metres each and two sidewalks of 2.3 metreseach. The structures, constructed in two halves, measured 28 metreslong and 24.5 metres long.

The project team comprised consulting and review engineers Vela-VKE with structural design provided by Concor Civils and lateralsupport design by Jones & Wagener. Esorfranki Geotechnicalconstructed the lateral support and conducted the jacking, withConcor Civils undertaking the concrete construction. AfriSam suppliedall the concrete for the project and provided technical advice for themore difficult concreting operations — input that made a valuablecontribution to the project achieving compliance.

The project presented several taxing technical challenges thatrequired close co-operation between all parties. For example, theconstruction team had expected to encounter mine sand from historicmining operations in the area in the embankment material. In reality,the embankment material was found to be well compacted fill withhigh clay content and a greater volume than expected of very hardquartzite bedrock which required drilling and blasting.

During the 18 month contract period, 30 local labourers wereemployed and trained in basic construction activities. Small tomedium enterprises were employed for managing the traffic on theroads adjacent to the site, as well as the paving of the sidewalks andimplementing traffic calming measures such as speed humps, toboost road safety in the adjacent communities.

Special training was conducted to uphold safety among thoseworkers required to work in close proximity to the existing railway line.Railway flagmen and scaffolding erectors were also trained.

Safety and environmentSince this project was constructed in a densely populated urbanenvironment, due care and attention had to be paid to constructionnoise levels. Compressors were specially silenced and noise and vibration

TransportCONSTRUCTION

76

Completing aroad-rail underpass

The use of conventional construction technologies to execute a ‘designand construct’ road-under-rail underpass project in Newclare,Johannesburg, as part of a bus rapid transit (BRT) system

Aerial view of project. Hoy Street is the near side andPrice Street the far side.


The Hoy Street side during jacking.


from blasting was managed by using small-charge-delayed blasting.The material excavated from the underpass was placed to reinforce

the toe of the adjacent railway embankment, eliminating the need tohaul this material across congested roads in the vicinity of the project.This was seen as a safety consideration, since members of the localcommunity use the streets for recreation activities.

The normal Health and Safety standards applicable to all Murray &Roberts Construction Group projects applied throughout. All those

working close to the live railway line were given special training toensure knowledge of the specific and invisible hazards and all sub-contractors were inducted into Murray & Roberts Construction safetystandards. This required the workers not only to conform to the highlevel safety requirements, but also to produce Risk Assessments andMethod Statements for all activities.

The numerous risks associated with this project were successfullymitigated by careful planning and implementation. ■

CONSTRUCTIONTransport


A closer look at the structure during the jacking operation.

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The completed underpass


2007-502_015 Bausammel_ohne_LWE AR-01.indd 1 27.02.12 14:42

The high-capacity wheel loader (knownin some countries as a bucket loader) iswidely used all over Africa wherever

heavy material-moving operations are takingplace. It is particularly useful in large-scalesurface mining because with a six-figure(measured in pounds) breakout force of it canbe used for both digging and shifting tasks.For underground use special models are nowavailable that use ultra-safe electric power.

Versatile products from establishedmanufacturersManufacturers who are well known hereinclude Bell Equipment, Case, Caterpillar,Doosan, Fiat-Hitachi, Hyundai, Komatsu,Liebherr and Volvo CE. In short mostmanufacturers include a modern wheelloader somewhere in their range; partlybecause these machines are so versatile; andpartly because they are relatively easy to bothmanufacture and maintain. The very firstmachines were simply rigid-framed bucket-equipped farm tractors, used in the US MidWest back in the 1930s.

Probably the number-one event in theevolutionary history of this very useful

machine was the incorporation of articulatedframework, soon after the Second World War.This increased the manoeuvrability of theequipment massively, allowing it to be usedin a confined space like a farm yard ormachinery store. Number two was theincorporation of hydraulic control (both liftand tilt) of the bucket – a vast improvementon the simple mechanical (heavy cable)linkages of the original loaders. Such finecontrol of massive power helped withdigging and loading from a heap in particular.Highly manoeuvrable four-wheel drive, sometypes incorporating robust hydraulic motors,followed soon after that.

Safety firstSafety issues were addressed early onbecause it was recognised that the twincontrol arms constituted a hazard in theirearly format; they were moved to the front ofthe machine with the counterbalancingweight of the diesel engine firmly at the back.

By the 1960s most wheel loadersincorporated these improvements, and it wasthen that the size (lifting capacity, measuredin either volume or weight) really started to

increase, from around the standard 3-5m3.This limit was soon doubled by keyinternational suppliers such as Caterpillar,Clark-Michigan and International Harvesterwho exploited the widescale adoption ofwheel loaders by the world’s quarryingindustry in particular. Machines that can lift15 tonnes-plus in a single “bite” are nowavailable, widely used in the opencast coaland oil shale industries and ideal for couplingwith the latest very large mining trucks.

Where is this vital branch of the contractors’plant industry heading now? First there is thetrend to supply and equip with an everincreasing range of attachments such asgrapples, log-lifters, specialised forks andbuckets that can be used to lift almost everyform of bulk or palleted load imaginable. Theseattachments increase the versatility of themachine too, because they can be used toextend the range of operation into such areas astunnelling and demolition (without a separatehydraulic breaker being needed in some cases).

Further developmentOther advances include moves to increasethe efficiency of fuel consumption, and toreduce exhaust and noise emissions at thesame time. These trends are common withdevelopments within the earthmoving plantindustry as a whole of course, many of themforced by the demands of tighteninglegislation. All encourage export sales, as dotrends to simplify maintenance operations bykeeping all regular-service items within easyreach under the hood.

The other major change we are seeing rightnow is the replacement of the standardtorque converter-based power transmissionsystem with ultra-reliable and silent electricmotors incorporated into each individualwheel hub, along with new high-capacityhybrid (diesel/electric) prime movers safelyand efficiently located well behind theoperator so that forward vision can continueto be improved. ■

LoadersCONSTRUCTION

78

Loading upin large quantities4WD wheel loaders are at work wherever earth, rubbish or solid mineralshave to be shifted; we look at the design of these highly versatile machines

Modern wheel loaders are highly-efficient, high-horsepower machineswith advanced capabilities



Experience the Progress.

The Group

Liebherr-Export AGGeneral-Guisanstrasse 14CH-5415 Nussbaumen, SwitzerlandPhone: +41 56-296 1111E-mail: [email protected]

2007-502_015 Bausammel_ohne_LWE AR-01.indd 1 27.02.12 14:42


Tilt sensors thatdo a stellar jobCrane designs adapted to suit utility and munici-pal operations, and related serviceapplications, thatrequire heavy lifting over long ranges

Penny + Giles, a business group of Curtiss-Wright Controls and designer andmanufacturer of high precision sensing

technology, is supplying its STT280 tilt sensorsto Stellar Industries for a boom anglepositioning application on its range of truck-mounted telescopic winch-line cranes.

A pivotal pioneerEstablished in 1990, Stellar Industries was apioneer in the design and manufacture thehydraulic hooklift. Since its inception Stellarhas created over forty different single-pivot,double-pivot and sliding jib models and nowholds numerous patents on the Stellar Shuttledouble-pivot hooklift.

The Penny + Giles STT280 tilt sensors arebeing used on Stellar’s range ofservice/mechanic truck packages, whichfeature telescopic winch-line cranesmounted on service truck bodies. Thesevehicles are typically used by utility andmunicipal companies and related serviceindustries requiring heavy lifting over longranges. The truck-mounted cranes offerlifting capabilities from 29,500 foot poundscapacity (capable of lifting 5,000 pounds at

approximately six feet) to 82,600 footpounds, which are capable of lifting 14,000pounds at five feet. All models feature aboom elevation from -5 to +80 degrees.

Stellar’s 5521 telescopic crane is the firstmodel in the range to feature the Penny +Giles tilt sensors and the first to use Stellar’sCDT (Crane Dynamics Technology) controlsystem. It offers a maximum 5,000 poundcapacity at 5’ 9” in boost mode, has a 21-footreach and offers two options: a ‘onehydraulic/one manual’ extension version andthe company’s all-new ‘two hydraulic’extension version.

Discreet and effectiveCommenting on the choice of Penny + Gilestilt sensors, Stellar’s sales and marketingmanager Sean Moran says, “The main reasonfor specifying the STT280 is the compactdesign, which allows us to mount them indiscreet locations on the cranes. A close look atthe company itself also showed that Penny +Giles products are used extensively in defenceand military applications, confirming that theirproducts are robust and manufactured to anextremely high quality. This makes them ideal

for the arduous operating environmentsdemanded of our telescopic crane systems.”

The STT280 tilt sensors are integral toStellar’s CDT smart control system. They areused to measure the angle of the telescopicboom, enabling the CDT to calculate the loadon the crane and transmit the data from thesensor to a handheld controller. This controllerfeatures a graphical user interface that usesmultiple sensory indicators (coloured LEDlights and pulsating vibrations) to alertoperators of increasing loads before anoverload situation occurs. The use of cyclicalvibrations in the controller ensures that theoperator is always aware of approachingmaximum capacity, while still being able tomonitor the load itself. Before the tilt sensorswere installed the only safety system in placewas a pressure sensor on the hydraulic systemthat would shut the crane down as it reached adefined load.

Summarising, Sean Moran says this is thefirst time this type of telescopic system hasused tilt sensor technology to relay cranecondition and operation to the operator,which puts Stellar and Penny + Giles at theforefront of service crane technology.

The Penny + Giles STT280 tilt sensor featuresa choice of measurement ranges from ±10°,±20°, ±30° and ±60°, with an output rangefrom 0.5 to 4.5Vdc over the full inclinationangle and a nominal 2.5Vdc at 0° tilt. It can alsooperate from a 5Vdc regulated or 8 to 30Vdcunregulated supply and uses solid state 3D-MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems)technology to measure its inclination relativeto earth's gravity. This means the sensor has alow power requirement of less than 6.5mA,and can therefore be used in hard-wired orbattery-powered systems. This gives theSTT280 significant advantages in reliability,stability and compactness compared to fluid-based electrolytic and pendulum-operatedsensors. ■

CranesCONSTRUCTION



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Regular maintenance is one requirement,but sometimes a compressed air systemneeds to be looked at in terms of an

upgrade, or even complete replacement. Is itstill delivering the quantity and quality of airyou need at the point of use? Are theoperating costs incurred reasonable? Is yourfactory, service or healthcare institution stillgetting the quality of service it deserves?

Steps to takeThe first step is to calculate how much air isneeded at the business end, and preciselywhen/how often. The second is to decidewhich type of compressor can best performthis task. The main choices will be betweendynamic or positive-displacement types,rotary or reciprocating, and whether thechosen machine is cooled by air or water.These are all considerations which will affectthe space that needs to be allocated to thesystem. Maybe your existing plant roomcould be done away with completely.

A secondary calculation will be on whetheror not an aftercooler is needed to prepare theoutput air for further treatment, such asfiltering, removal of oil and drying. Full heatrecovery is an economic proposition in thecase of some large applications.

Will the machine run most of the time onfull load, which is usually the most efficientpractice? It may actually cost you less in thelong run to have a matching pair of smallercompressors to cope with varying part-loadconditions, the sort of use associated withbatch production in a modern textile or foodprocessing factory, especially one thatspecialises in contract production.

Taking adviceSuppliers can advise on this calculation, whichmay indicate that a chip-controlledcompressor sequencer is needed to keep theoutput stable within the pressure and volumelimits you set yourself. Whatever the outcomea user-friendly automatic control system nearlyalways makes economic sense these days.

Your compressor supplier will also be ableto advise on whether a receiver tank will beneeded to cope with varying load conditions,e.g. to boost delivery capacity at low costduring infrequent peak periods.

Finally, the experts will be able to check onthe quality and layout of all the existing pipinglayout, junctions, filters, regulators and so onthat distribute and control the produced air, allcarefully sized so as to minimise pressuredrops from stage to stage of a typical rotary

screw-fed system. Some kind of accessiblemoisture and oil drain-off point should be builtin at an appropriate location to maintain thequality of the air and the combined integrityand long life of the complete system.

Efficiencies and purposesProper design using contemporary principlesalong these lines should ensure that youalways receive the quality of air your businessor institution needs in the right volume andpressure combination at the right time. Andmost importantly with the right impact onyour bottom line. Up to three-quarters of thecost of compressed air is routinely ascribed topower supply these days, and in the first yearof running a brand new system the totalsystem operating costs can typically be twicethe acquisition cost.

This is why it’s vital to check overall energyefficiency – including for cooling – whenchoosing a new compressed air system.

Components that need checking in thisregard include the efficiency of the airenditself, the power demand of the coolingsystem(s) incorporated, the quality of themotor and the drive system (self-tensioningbelts are typically recommended if directdrive is not possible), the quality of thepiping, and the degree of isolation fromvibration at typical output levels.

Another key consideration is whether asimple enclosure will be adequate to keepthe noise level down; some old-style separateplant rooms can nowadays be converted tomore profitable purposes if modernprinciples of sound attenuation are applied.

Most of these are technical considerationswhich an astute works manager can applycommon-sense principles to, but once thebasic requirements are defined it is nearly

always best to bring in a qualified systemdesigner to sort out the details. All

reputable suppliers in Africacan provide this service. ■

CompressorsCONSTRUCTION

82

A machine fitfor the purpose?Is your compressor working as it should? Or have your air needs movedon? We look at some of the key considerations


The XHP1070WCAT-T1 compressor from Doosan is well-suited to quarry drilling,industrial processes and pipeline testing and commissioning



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EQUIPMENT

ConstructionThe new evolutionary E-series ADT‘E’ is for evolutionary with regards Bell Equipment’s new E-series generation of Articulated DumpTrucks (ADTs).With a wider hood and more imposing styling, the E-series looks well poised to grow Bell Equipment’sproud heritage as a premium ADT supplier and is planned to go into production in 2013.Bell Equipment Chief Executive Gary Bell said: “We believe that our D-series has successfully metthe challenges of the world’s job sites and has many strengths and features across the range thatour customers would like to see carried forward in our product advancement. Therefore we haveadopted an evolutionary approach to the E-series, to build on the legacy of the D-series generationand our decades of experience in design and manufacture, rather than a revolutionary clean-sheet design. We’ve stuck to our design principles of delivering weight optimised, high productiontrucks with superior tractive effort but looked at ways of doing things smarter to provide customerswith an even greater competitive advantage in their businesses.”Bell Equipment has a tradition of pioneering industry firsts and these ground-breaking ADTinnovations are in its latest generation of trucks, including standard onboard weighing, keylessignition, HillAssist, Bin Tip Prevention, Auto Park Application (APA) and standard Turbo Spin Protection.In addition the new trucks include various other safety features while further advancements havebeen made to the company’s own fleet management system, Fleetm@tic to take existing technologyto the next level and provide customers with seamless integration with their business systems.



Ranked as the world’s second largest mining show and the biggesttrade exhibition in Southern Africa, the 2012 edition of ElectraMining opened its doors to thousands of visitors in Johannesburg

in September, to offeri a showcase of products and services over fourdays. The exhibition specialises in new innovations in the miningindustry - with an array of technologies on show.

This year’s exhibition was the 21st show since it opened its doors in1972 - and there were over 800 exhibitors from 15 mining countriespresent to celebrate - from as far afield as Russia, Turkey, India, China,Canada, USA, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Italy,Switzerland, Sweden and Botswana. Both local and internationalexhibitors displayed their latest technological innovations and services,which have been developed since the last exhibition in 2010. This year’sshow, for the first time, included general industry companies thatproduce raw materials like steel and electrical components.

Of this year’s event, Specialised Exhibition’s Managing Director GaryCorin observed that visitors could expect to see many leading-edgeSouth African companies as well as high-profile international exhibitorsover the 3,700 square metres of exhibition space that comprises thebiggest trade show in Southern Africa. He noted, “Internationalcompanies are exhibiting here because they see South Africa as agetaway into Africa for local and global investors looking for newbusiness opportunities in the mining and power generation industries.”

A world of innovation on disaplay International exhibitors this year included the Canadian Association of

Mining Equipment and Services for Export (CAMESE). There was, also, aChinese CNC machine supplier, GSK CNC Equipment - exhibiting atElectra Mining Africa for the first time. The company presented its GSK988T CNC controller for lathe machines, servo driver and motor, spindleservo driver and motor. Polysius, a German specialist company in thedesign and supply of grinding and processing equipment for the cementand minerals industry, highlighted a new range of products including ahigh pressure grinding roll (HPGR).

From South Africa, motor manufacturer Zest Weg Group put energyefficiency on the spotlight with its new and improved green machinery.Also on show was the recently upgraded range of DWA moulded casecircuit breakers, a full range of capacitors and Weg’s SRW01 smart relay.

Compressor and generator rental company Rand-Air presented itslatest energy efficient, oil-free high pressure compressors and lowpressure blowers, which are used to treat waste water in mining.

“Even though here in South Africa we do not have such a broadselection of products like in Europe or China, what we do have is world-class. What local exhibitors have here are products that can competeanywhere in the world,” said Corin.

There is a serious reason for global players to present in Johannesburg- but also for those present to engage, to network, to share knowledge ofopportunities. South Africa has the fifth largest mining sector in theworld, but suffers for a lack of investment. Hence, the exhibition serves,also, as a platform to facilitate communication between public andprivate sector, focusing on the growing role of Africa in the world’seconomy. ■

MININGElectra Mining

85

Making the mostof African miningAfrica’s largest mining expo, Electra Mining,opened up to the investor community inJohannesburg recently

Multotec showcasedits process equipmentat the 2012 edition of

Electra Mining


S17 ATR Oct 2012 Mining_Layout 1 20/09/2012 18:10 Page 85

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Cullinan Diamond Mine (Pty) Ltd, amember of the Petra Diamonds group,recently awarded Murray & Roberts

Cementation a contract that includes thedeepening of Shaft 1 and Shaft 3 at the Cullinandiamond mine - near Pretoria, in South Africa -together with associated infrastructure andplanned level development to the Cullinan orebody. The contract is part of a major expansionplan at Cullinan, which will take productionfrom just under one million carats in 2011 to2.4mn carats by 2019, incorporating 2mn caratsfrom underground production and 0.4mncarats from a major tailings programme. Themine is currently producing about 9.2 kilotonsper day (ktpd) from three mining blocks on twohorizons at the mine.

Allan Widlake, business development directorat Murray & Roberts Cementation, saysCullinan’s life of mine profile requires theopening up of a new block cave in the C-CutPhase 1 area of the Cullinan kimberlite pipe, 200

metres below the current operations. This newblock will access the first portion of the C-Cutresource, beneath existing production levels.

“The C-Cut Phase 1 is planned for a steadystate production rate of circa 4 Mtpa, with thefirst column tonnages reporting in calendaryear 2016,” he explains. “Access to the C-CutPhase 1 block is through a decline system fromthe 763 metre level on the southern andnorthern sides of the kimberlite pipe,deepening of the existing No 1 rock hoistingshaft to handle waste and ore from the futuremining areas and deepening of the existing No3 men and material shaft to deliver personneland material to the underground workings.”

Cullinan is one of the world’s most celebrateddiamond mines and has produced more than700 stones sized greater than 100 carats andmore than a quarter of the entire world'sdiamonds of greater than 400 carats. It is alsothe world's only significant source of truly rareand highly valuable blue diamonds. ■

DiamondsMINING

86

A deeper diamond shaft

View of the head gear at Cullinan




MININGServices

Engineering group Sandvik has nowestablished a regional centraliseddistribution hub near OR Tambo

International Airport in Gauteng, SouthAfrica, near the city of Johannesburg -supporting its customers in the miningand construction industries throughoutsouthern Africa.

The new hub is actually the fourth of itskind within the global Sandvik group - andits opening coincided with the group’s150-year anniversary celebrations.

The other three strategically-sitedwarehouses are in the Netherlands, theUSA and Singapore. These centraliseddistribution hubs are characterised byefficient inventory management andadvanced logistics to ensure reliability ofsupply. This distribution philosophy allowsthe group to ensure rapid deliveries andmaintain a broad product offering.Operating from a 16,000 square metre site

staffed by a total of 65 temporary andpermanent employees, the newdistribution hub - known within the Groupas C4 - represents the consolidation of sixlocal warehouses - controlling astockholding of about 28,000 productlines at any one time, from O-rings to 4.5ton manganese cones, worth in the regionof R230mn ($US27.6mn).

Targeting continuous improvement“We’re presently delivering 5,000 lines tocustomers every week,” Sandvik regionallogistics manager, Rodger Winter, says.“With more than 1,2 00 pieces of ourequipment operational in southern Africaat the moment, we offer customers 80 percent availability on all parts. Thispercentage includes both fast and slowmoving parts and with continuousimprovement programmes in place we aretargeting to increase this. We can source

and ship the required item within 24 hoursand 85 per cent of these customers receivetheir required parts within six hours ofrequesting them. Over the course of 2011,our logistics partner travelled 5.3mnkilometres while delivering stock items tosouthern African customers.” ■

A southern African hub

Sandvik employees welcoming guests to the officialopening of Sandvik's centralised distribution hub inWingfield Park


88

EQUIPMENT

Mining

Doosan Portable Power offers a 50 Hzversion of the its LSC (LightSource®

Compact) portable light tower for markets inthe Middle East and Africa. Designed forreliability and durability, the LSC light tower -also available as a 60 Hz model - is ideal forrental. Applications include lighting formining and quarrying locations. The light tower has a new power train basedaround the Kubota D1005 water-cooleddiesel engine, providing 8.5 kW at 1500 RPM(1800 RPM for the 60 Hz version) andmeeting EPA Tier 4 final emissionregulations. The fuel tank capacity allows anextended runtime to 64 hours (55 hours forthe 60 Hz version). The compact frame maximises loads fortransporting on trucks; 12 assembled unitscan be accommodated on a standard 48 footflatbed trailer. The enclosure is designed for convenientaccess to the control panel. A small door onone side of the unit allows operators toaccess the controls without having to openthe entire side panel, while integrated hingeshave been added to the other side of thelight tower to provide easy access tomaintenance components. The floodlights provide a NEMA 6 x 7 beamspread for broad light distribution. The cast-aluminium fixture housing includes areflector for optimal light distribution over awide area. The small footprint of thefloodlights improves wind load resistance.

www.doosanportablepower.com

Compact light tower formining markets Caterpillar showcases quarry

equipment in Johannesburg

Caterpillar, which manufactures constructionand mining equipment, together with itsdealer for Southern Africa, BarloworldEquipment, has hosted a three-day event inJohannesburg to introduce new machineryto the South African Market and exchangeindustry expertise with their customers. Thecompany’s Quarry Days take place twice a yearin different cities all over the world - to buildstrong customer relations and to demonstratepractices and services the company has tooffer to its customers. The JohannesburgQuarry Days this year took place on the 10-12September, with talks presented by differentindustry experts focusing on machineselection, maintenance and tips on maximisingproductivity. The talks were followed by livedemonstrations of the latest machines on site- where Caterpillar demonstrated differentmachines for loading, hauling, crushing andsupport equipment. Loading equipmentincluded a Cat 988H, Cat 966H, Cat 374D, anda Cat 340D. Caterpillar also introduced theirlatest hauling equipment, a Cat 740B, 36 tontruck for difficult terrain and a Cat 770, 36 ton,rigid truck. This year Caterpillar invited Metso Group, aglobal supplier of technology and servicesmainly to the mining and constructionindustry, to showcase their latest crushingmachines. The Metso Group introduced two

new crushing machines at the event, namelythe Lokotrack LT120 and Lokotrack LT120E.Both machines offer high capacity crushing,great mobility and use 20-30 per cent less fuel. Caterpillar’s Industry Marketing Manager JulienRoux said, “Caterpillar is a global company, buta few years ago we realised that we neededlocal access to our suppliers and customers.Johannesburg was the perfect place to hostthe Caterpillar Quarry Days”. He added, “With Barloworld we have been ableto pull off a successful event where the mainfocus is not selling Caterpillar as the onlyoption but to reassure our customers that withus, they are dealing with a company withspecialised expertise in many different areas.What is really important to us is exchangingexpertise in line with the best practises in theindustry”. The mining industry plays a major role in theSouth African economy. South Africa dependsto a large extent on energy production mainlyfrom the mining industry, and therefore thelargest source of carbon emissions. This yearQuarry Days placed a special focus on energyefficient products. At the event, Caterpillarannounced the opening of its brand new oiltesting lab in South Africa, which is the biggesttesting lab in the world after a facility in Beijing,and one of four labs Caterpillar has in operationaround the world.

The 50 Hz LSC Light Towerfrom Doosan PortablePower

The Caterpillar Lokotrack LT120



S18 ATR Oct 2012 Solutions_Layout 1 20/09/2012 18:11 Page 89

SOLUTIONS

WoodOn-farm timber processingtechnologyNew forestry technologies and services aremaximising timber production by Kenyanfarmers as well as increasing their woodlotsprofitability. With the decline in forest coverby over 12,600 hectares annually, farmers inthe country as well as in East Africa havemoved to fill in the gap by taking upagroforestry as a business. They are plantinga wide range of trees vital for the productionof timber, fuel wood and other products. Recent data from the Kenya Forest Serviceindicates that the current national forest coverstands at 5.9 per cent-far short of therecommended 10 per cent. Wood and timber production is vital for therealisation of Vision 2030, which the countryhopes to attain in the next 18 years. Among the trees in demand are the fastgrowing Eucalyptus from South Africa,Grevillea robusta, Prunus africanas as sourcesof timber for domestic and export market. Recent data indicates that the country has atleast 3.5mn acres of idle arable land that canbe utilised for planting trees. But timberproduction from logs on the farm is boundto increase with emerging technology. Themajority of farmers have been using powersaws - which, in many cases, will need to bemodified to improve quality and profits. “Even with increase farm forestry, the timberrecovery rate has been low - about 27-30 per

cent - due to the use of power saw-spitting,which has become common in rural Kenya,”observed Mr Njagi Munene, a Kenya ForestResearch Institute (KEFRI) official at a recentfarmers’ field day at Wambugu Farm in NyeriCounty, Central Kenya. The recovery rate is worked out from theinitial logs size compared to the overall timberyield. He says that only the most skilled powersaw operator can produced quality timber. “The timber boards from most operators areundersize, oversize, very rough, wavy andtapered. It is quite costly to the tree producers,loggers and even the timber buyers who areforced to seek other services to make themusable,” noted Mr Munene, as hedemonstrated the new KEFRI developed on-farm timber processor. Using a modified gauge attached to a powersaw, KEFRI - the government body involvedin forestry research - has developed a timberprocessor which minimises wastageachieving over 55 per cent recovery rate. “The new technology produces timber withsmooth surfaces, proper sizes, improvesrecovery rate and improves safety of theoperator,” said Mr Munene as hedemonstrated the workings of thetechnology.

Mwangi Mumero

New forestry technologies and services are maximisingtimber production and profitability in Kenya


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SOLUTIONS

WoodNukor’s introduces the new C200 circular swing blade sawmill


Integrated sawmilling, timber processing consultancy andremanufacturing firm Nukor has augmented its portable

sawmill portfolio with the launch of its C200 circular swing-blade sawmill.The cornerstone of the Nukor portable sawmill range is, withoutdoubt, the Lucas Mill range it imports from Australia. The Lucasbrand has attained legendary status across the world - theportability, accuracy, rugged toughness and range versatility ofLucas affording it brand stature that’s rivalled by few otherportable milling names anywhere in the world.

The circular swing blade head configuration - aligned on afour post, raised-frame aluminium tube girder support system -allows the Lucas to fit over the log and cut in both a verticaland horizontal direction along the full length of the log.Primary benefit of the Lucas is its ability to process small tolarge size diameter logs from log to final dimensions withoutany need for secondary ripping or edging. Nukor’s next offeringin its portable sawmill range is the US-manufactured Bakerprimary breakdown horizontal narrow bandsaw mill range; theintroduction of narrow bandsaw capacity allowing Nukor’scustomers to attain increased log optimisation through asmaller saw kerf.

Right for the new economic realitiesThe currently depressed global economy and dirge of smallerdiameter log volumes flooding the marketplace have forcedsawmillers to consider their options when consideringimproved sawmilling capacity. Instead of opting for large-volume sawmilling capacity when upgrading or starting mills,sawmillers now go for portable milling capacity - the emphasisbeing on retaining processing capacity at minimal cost. Theadvent of reliable, accurate and serious processing capacitynow found in portable mills has hastened this process, withincreasing emphasis on affordability and can-do ability in theportable milling sector. It’s at this juncture that Nukor’s self-manufactured C200 circular swing-blade portable sawmillbecomes relevant. It provides for all of the processing capacity,accuracy and flexibility delivered by the Lucas range but at amore affordable price.

With C200 manufacturing, Nukor retains with the keycharacteristics that make the Lucas such a winner. It uses thesame Kohler V-twin 22 kW (30hp) electric start petrol-drivenpower unit that’s run on the Lucas Mill 10” (254 mm diameterblade) unit, plus the Lucas gearbox that allows for the smoothtransfer of power to the cutting head during both vertical andhorizontal cutting. Nukor also supplies the C200 in an electricversion.

And, furthermore, Nukor has changed the four-post, raised-frame aluminium tube girder support system used on theLucas by providing for a four-post, ground-based heavy dutysteel rail support system on which the head runs to provide forthe cutting action. The result is extreme accuracy andreliability at a reduced rate.

A portable product, for accurate cuttingThe C200 is completely portable and can be loaded on theback of a bakkie/pick-up. It has a short set-up time and can cutlogs up to 1.4m in diameter and 5m in length. Optional railingcan be supplied to extend the processing length. Due to thismachine having a circular sawblade, it has a very high cuttingaccuracy and a very smooth finish. Depending on siteconditions, the machine can produce anywhere up to 10m3 ofsawn lumber per day.

The running costs on this machine, according to Nukor, areextremely low. The frame is a solid ridged structure, whichenables better accuracy. Other key characteristics include:● Suitable for indoor and outdoor use.● Uses high pressure gas struts, which are tried and tested in

the industry.● Single person can operate the machine.● Suitable for cutting all types of timber.● Motor is fitted with an industrial air-filter.● Durable and high ratio ratchet system for easy height

adjustment.● Riving knife for cleaner cuts and safety.● Electric start.● Repetitive ruler for easy and quick size adjustment.● 215mm Max cut horizontally and vertically.● Minimal wear parts.● Petrol and Electric model available.● The ground rail system can separate for easier

transportation.● Uses a five tungsten carbide tooth cutting blade for easier

cutting.● Rubber engine mounts are used to reduce engine vibration

through the frame.● Vertical vesconite guide.● Shipping weight – 500kg.● Sharpening set is optional.

Contact Nukor at:Tel: +27 11 610 2000Fax: +27 11 610 2020Web site: www.nukor.co.za


93

SOLUTIONS

InternetSkyVision expands to connect more South AfricansSkyVision Networks South Africa, a subsidiary of SkyVision Global Networks- which provides Internet connectivity over satellite and fibre-optic networks- recently committed to a partnership agreement with telecommunicationsand infrastructure provider Broadlink, to bring reliable, secure, cost effectiveVirtual Private Network (VPN) and Internet connectivity services to businessesin South Africa.SkyVision Networks South Africa’s services via VSATs - very small aperturedishes for satellite communications - enhance Broadlink’s range of dedicatedterrestrial and wireless communication solutions, by enabling Broadlinkto offer end-to-end business connectivity to sites that cannot be servedby a reliable terrestrial or wireless connection. With this addition, Broadlinknow provides virtual private network (VPN) and Internet connectivitysolutions all across Africa.Broadlink offers high quality, performance-guaranteed, end-to-endmanaged connections for the South African corporate market as well asfor multinationals seeking African connectivity. By utilising SkyVision’ssatellite services and its advanced connectivity infrastructure - its local huband teleport - Broadlink delivers flexible and scalable solutions for businesses

looking to expand their communications requirements from SouthernAfrica into and around Africa.Mike Brown, Managing Director of Broadlink said, “Broadlink has madegreat strides in the South African business market. However, we have seenan increased demand - from our customers - for communication solutionscatering to business sites and branches across our borders. By partneringwith SkyVision, we can now accommodate their requirements forconnectivity solutions across the African continent – allowing us to expandour reach exponentially.”“SkyVision showcased its professional abilities and demonstrated amazingflexibility, which allowed us to customise the service offering and suit it tomeet the customer’s technical requirements and budget,” Andre Engelbrecht,Broadlink VSAT Services specialist, stated.Iftah Amit, SkyVision's Vice President of Sales commented, "This partnershipaligns with our ongoing strategy to increase our high quality services reachto business customers in South Africa.”

Visit www.skyvision.co.za and www.broadlink.co.za to learn more



94

SOLUTIONS -SATELLITE


At AidEx 2012, Inmarsat reinforces itscommitment to the humanitarian aidsector with initiatives for its popularIsatPhone Pro mobile satellite handsetand a new broadband service - BGANLink - helping non-governmental

organisations (NGOs) keep a tighter control of satellite communications costs. The Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro humanitarian package offers a reliable voiceservice with large bundles of minutes for a low monthly charge. It allowsNGOs to take advantage of a dependable voice service in the field whilebenefitting from predictable monthly charges. Furthermore, BGAN Link empowers NGOs working on location for sustainedperiods of time with a high-volume usage broadband service for a fixedmonthly price. The service comes in 5, 10 or 15GB packages, depending ona NGO’s data needs, allows access to office applications including e-mail,Internet and intranet access, and enables VPN access to corporate networks,wherever their operations are based. If the user exceeds their monthlyallowance, they are simply charged for the additional usage at the in-bundleper-MB rate, or can have a free upgrade to the next data package. NGOsthat require total cost control, for peace of mind, can select an option that

monitors daily usage cumulatively to ensure the monthly allowance is notexceeded.Commenting on the new initiatives, Inmarsat’s President of Enterprisebusiness Ronald Spithout affirmed that the company is continually lookingfor ways to furtherimprove the servicesits affords NGOs. “Wehave listened carefullyto NGOs who havebeen telling us thataffordability andpredictability ofpricing, alongside ourunrivalled quality ofservice, is extremelyimportant to them;we have respondedwith these new,predic tably-pr icedpackages,” he said.

Aggreko Middle East Ltd.............53Ajman Free Zone ............................43AME Trade Ltd. (MozBuild 2012) ..............................20Arik Air Ltd. ........................................19Astra Veicoli Industriali S.p.A. - Iveco Group........................49Bell Equipment Company SA (Pty) Ltd. ................71Bomag GmbH and Company OHG ................................75Broadcrown Ltd...............................52CEI Enterprises, Inc.........................84Ciber Equipamentos Rodoviários Ltda. ............................73CNH International SA....................13COELMO Generators S.r.l.............58Cummins Power Generation ....23Delegation of German Industry & Commerce in Ghana (WACEE 2012) ..................51Doosan Infracore ............................83Eaton Electrical South Africa (Pty) Ltd. ................................96Eko Hotel and Suites ....................89Eksen Teknik Sunger San ve Tic Ltd. St..............................93Emirates ..............................................17Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise ....95Gedore Tools SA (Pty) Ltd. ..........27GEFCO..................................................69Genmac Srl ........................................60Guardia Systems ............................44Hamriyah Free Zone Authority ................................39Hatz Motorenfabrik GmbH & Co KG ................................70Himoinsa ............................................65IIR Exhibitions

(Africa Electricity 2012) ................35JCB Power Products ......................63Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. ..................25Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd. ............15Kobelco Cranes Europe Ltd. ......81Kohler Power Systems..................57Liebherr Export AG........................79LINZ ELECTRIC..................................61Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. ........99Malaysia Trade Commission......22Marelli Motori S.p.A. ........................2Metalgalante-Carmix....................77Metco Global Ltd. ..........................87Micromine Africa ............................85MOTORTECH GmbH ....................59MTU South Africa (Pty) Ltd.........55Nukor Sawmilling (Pty) Ltd. ......90PennWell Corporation (Power-Gen Africa 2012) ............67Printacom ..........................................47Shandong Shantui Construction MachineryImp. & Exp. Co. Ltd.........................11Sharjah Airport International Free Zone Authority......................41SIG Societa Italiana Gomma......86SkyVision Global Networks........91Spedag Interfreight AG ..............26Standard Bank (Stanbic)..............29Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd.......66Volvo Construction Equipment Int.....................................5Volvo Penta International..............7Wavesight Ltd...................................45Wipro Technologies ......................33Yahsat ..................................................21

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Documents

African Review October 2012